Kasumi's Fate
by SkyStrider
Summary: Fate has decreed that Kasumi's family is doomed. However, Kasumi may have a few things to say about that...and Fate is not always so easily read. A story about the future always needs a trip to the past.  Kasumi/Tofu  a little Ranma/Akane
1. Introduction

First, the obvious disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

This is the first of four Ranma ½ stories in a series called Bindings. This first story was inspired by a YouTube video created by the user Djclyve. He has been working on generating character profile videos for all the Ranma ½ characters. He seems to have covered all the Anime characters, and is moving through the Manga now. I have seen (and enjoyed) many of his clips, but the one that caught my attention was Kasumi Tendo's. He practically sub-titled it "What is Strength?" and it made me think about this fair maiden and how she puts up with the day-to-day nonsense at the Tendo Dojo. What might be her motivations in life (and for not catching the first bus out of Nerima)? Looking at her character, there are a few notable things that leap out about her:

+ She's seems fairly bright, very pretty, and a wizard at the domestic skills. Given the number of cavemen lurking about Nerima, she should have about a dozen marriage proposals by now (she's 21 in my story), or at least half a dozen date requests per week (unless Daddy dearest is trying to scare them away – unlikely, as he's not that competent: see the Anime episode "The Egg-Catcher Man" for one of Soun's attempts).

+ She seems to be encouraging her father almost like he was an adolescent. She never brings tough problems to him, just fastballs right across the plate ("Father, the tub is broken. Do you think I should call the plumber?"). She encourages him to take action in the face of adversity ("Oh Father, you are so brave!") despite the often negative outcomes (too many instances to point out). Overall, she seems to be trying to push him a bit.

+ She's gentle and quiet, but she does speak out when she thinks something is wrong. It's usually in the form of "Ranma/Akane/Nabiki, I think you should apologize to Ranma/Akane/Nabiki because…" See the Anime episode "Nabiki, Ranma's New Fiancée!" for a couple of examples.

+ Her family does think the world of her, but in some ways, she's an unknown. The Manga episode, chapter 2 of volume 33, "Kasumi is Angry" demonstrates this clearly. They don't really seem to understand how their sister/daughter ticks. Of course, this could be a case of "It's always the quiet ones…"

+ Despite her apparent innocence and naivety, she is often the most competent/observant one in the room. One of my favorite Manga stories is Volume 34, chapter 1, "Bean Throwing Night". After the adversary lays waste to everyone, guess who deals with the problem rationally in less than 30 seconds? At the end of Anime episode "Battle for Miss Beachside", she makes an off-handed remark "Oh my, what a fix." Now she could be referring to the mess in front of her, but the word "fix" can also reference a contest that's rigged – and it's fairly obvious Nabiki rigged the beauty contest (no spoilers there), even if none of the others caught on.

+ Speaking of the "Battle for Miss Beachside," how does a woman who normally dresses so conservatively show up in a killer bikini at the beach and then claim she doesn't understand why men are flocking to her? Following her normal fashion sense, Kasumi's suit should have been a one piece that she wore under a beach wrap. When Akane tries to point out that the men are reacting to how she's dressed, Kasumi replies "How do you know they haven't heard about my cooking?" This causes the reluctant couple to sweatdrop (Hint to Ranma and Akane – she's yanking your chain…). By the way – the bikini from that Anime episode is the one she uses to ambush Tofu with in this story…

Now, you may disagree with my interpretations. One could always say (correctly, I might add) that Ranma ½ is a farce and should be taken completely tongue-in-cheek (my favorite type of story). Plot holes and inconsistencies are part-and-parcel of this kind of story. But I'm a gardener at heart, and I feel any sort of hole should be filled, as decoratively as possible. So, dear reader, let us grab some shovels and some pretty plants, and take a walk with the lovely Ms. Tendo. And, for good measure, let us grab the good doctor Tofu Ono by the scruff of the neck and drag him along as well – he'll thank us later.

Oh, some points concerning Mrs. Tendo before we begin: Kasumi's mother is never named in the Manga or Anime. However, many fan fictions have adopted the name Kimiko, so we will keep the tradition alive here. The only thing we know about her "real" personality is that she was seen as kind and attentive by Akane and Kasumi, but it's no great surprise that two daughters would view their long dead mother that way. So, we need to go out on a limb here just a bit – when she was alive, the Tendo dojo was an on-going concern. This meant that someone had to be applying their foot to Soun's wishy-washy backside to keep things running. Also, Akane's memories of her mother suggest that Mom looked somewhat like Akane, at least in the Manga (chapter 2, volume 22, "Genma's Mysterious Secret"), so let's borrow Akane's personality (and determination) for her Mom, but sweeten it with Kasumi's natural grace. Since Ranma ½ is martial arts farce at heart (O.K. among other things), and the family owns a dojo, let's allow Kimiko to be an adept at one form or another (but not Anything Goes) – something that she can pass onto her eldest daughter. With that extra little bit of color, we are ready to begin…

Ladies and Gentlemen; it gives me great honor to present to you, Miss Kasumi Tendo…


	2. The First Vision

Chapter 1: The First Vision

Kasumi lifted her head off of the ground, sat up, and looked around in confusion. "Oh my!" She was in a dark open area, sitting on a floor of cool black marble. What little light that was available came from a sickly glowing fog that filled the surrounding area to waist level as far as she could see. Lifting her eyes, she saw no ceiling, and no stars, just darkness. "I wonder where I am?"

Standing up, Kasumi took stock of herself. She was wearing her winter night gown without her slippers. Running her hands through her hair, she noted no bumps or bruises and that her hair was unbound as was normal in preparing for bed. She felt no pain anywhere, and noticed no bruises on any visible skin.

"Hmmm. Let's see," she thought to herself. "I believe the last kidnapping at the dojo was Saffron's people taking Akane. My last time was by Prince Toma on his island, so likely I'm overdue for my turn. But I'm not tied up or locked in a room and there's no one standing over me. I don't see any other girls around. So, I probably haven't been kidnapped."

She felt reassured by this thought but also a little disappointed – her life could have used a little more excitement lately. Ever since Ranma and Akane's failed wedding a few weeks ago, things had calmed down considerably. While Ranma hadn't given up teasing Akane (and vice versa), they both were making an effort to hold the noise level down and actually be considerate to each other *most* of the time. They had even been spending a lot more time together, especially since Kasumi's father, Soun, had declared that there would be no further wedding attempts until the couple resolved their extraneous unwanted relationships. The legal age of marriage (without parental approval) in Japan was two years away for the eighteen year olds. Since a wedding would no longer provide a cure for Ranma's shape-shifting affliction, neither one saw any hurry to resolve things and were rather enjoying the lack of pressure.

Kasumi studied her surroundings again. "Hello? Anyone here?" she called out. Her voice echoed repeatedly in the fog, fading to whispers that would repeat endlessly. "Curiouser and curiouser," she thought. The fog began to eddy around her despite the still air. She bent down and tapped the floor. The sound was much louder than it should have been. "Not quite right." Thinking further on it, she decided she must be dreaming.

"Well, if I know I'm dreaming, that means I should be waking up now with that realization." She looked around expectantly and waited. "Hmmm, still here." Kasumi waited a little longer then lifted her voice, "Hello? This is really impressive, but I do have a family to take care of. Could we please hurry this along?" The last word echoed endlessly.

In answer to her question, a red glow appeared off in the distance. She studied the light appraisingly. It looked to be about half a kilometer away. Kasumi raised her voice again. "That's a little far. I don't suppose you would consider moving it closer?" The light did not move or flicker. "Oh well," she sighed. "Might as well start walking."

As she moved toward the glow, she considered some of the changes in her life lately. The rest of Ranma's fiancée brigade had not been around the dojo for a while now. After the failed wedding, Ranma had spoken sharply to Ukyo and Shampoo. He was *not* pleased with the bombing of the dojo or the attempt at injuring Akane. He made it quite clear (and loud – they probably heard him in Okinawa) that he was furious with both of them and forgiveness would be slow in coming. If either woman approached him, the air temperature dropped considerably, so much so that both ladies decided that Ranma needed a little space (for now). Ranma didn't even try to reason with Kodachi. Any time she appeared, Ranma dealt with her by grabbing the drugged black roses she always carried and shoving them in her face. Once she was asleep, he would quietly leave her after placing her somewhere safe.

Unfortunately, some things had not changed. Both the adult Saotomes, Ranma's parents, were still staying with Tendos. While Genma had drawn Kasumi's father out of his shell further that anyone else since Soun's wife had died, Kasumi was not overjoyed with the elder male Saotome's viewpoints on life or his child-rearing techniques. She had been actively working on reversing some of the damage Genma caused to Ranma, especially Ranma's tremendous foot-in-mouth abilities. The boy cared for people, but needed work on understanding how they ticked and that sometimes a fist in the face was not the surest way to a change of heart. Kasumi felt that her job might be a little easier if Genma would go on a training trip for a while – never mind that the household budget would also improve without the lazy bottomless pit to feed.

Kasumi liked Ranma's mother, Nodoka, but felt she couldn't really trust her. Nodoka was always eager to help and provided company on Kasumi's shopping trips. Additionally, Ranma's mother seemed to be genuinely fond of Akane, both as a person and a perspective daughter-in-law. However, Kasumi never forgot that Nodoka had been ready to force Ranma to commit seppuku; all because she thought Ranma was a cross-dresser. Nodoka had forgiven Ranma for his curse, but she was always watching and evaluating Ranma and that damn katana was always in Nodoka's possession.

"Oh My, Did I just swear?" Kasumi thought to herself. Well, she supposed *some* frustration with the situation was appropriate and she should be allowed it. While she had been taught to defer to her elders, it didn't help that her family elders were idiots. Kasumi had been the acting adult in the family ever since her Mom died when Kasumi was 9 years old. The house and the budget were her responsibility and stretching the yen from Soun's limited income became more challenging ever year. She was now 21 years old and the matriarch of her family for all practical purposes. Many of her friends and neighbors knew the pressure she was under and were astounded with her patience and her ever-present smile. What they didn't know was that she was an adept at Tai Chi due her mother's training, something which she practiced (or was that clinged to?) everyday to relieve her stress.

Kasumi's thoughts were interrupted by a change in the glow as she approached. While it had been red, it had now changed to a strong steady white. The glow emanated from a large peculiar object standing about two and a half meters high. It was a large nearly-vertical slowly spinning disk mounted on to the back of a fixed central hub. Radial lines cut the disk into a least twenty equally spaced wedges. The fixed hub was held by a thick tripod of sorts that allowed the wheel to spin freely. On the side of the tripod was a control level. The closest Kasumi had seen to anything like it before was an upright prize wheel from a game show or a casino except that the tile wedges advertised no prizes. Instead, each wedge consisted of a rippled mirror surface which flashed light from an unknown source.

Kasumi allowed her fingers to brush against the upright control level. Instantly, the surrounding mist was replaced by darkness. "What's this?" uttered Kasumi. The last word was echoed endless thorough the darkness returning to the surprised girl as a whispering that did not end. Then the whispering became more distinct, and she recognized words not her own in the softness of the sounds.

"I am the Wheel of Fate. I can show you the future," the darkness whispered.

"Oh, how interesting. Now that I've seen you, may I go home?" she responded. Kasumi sensed confusion in the whispering.

"Are you not intrigued? Everyone wishes to know the future," echoed the darkness.

"I'm sorry, but not really. I've seen many fortune tellers before. Usually it's a matter of telling the requestor what they wish to hear. As for Tarot cards and other nonsense, why should the spirits wish to sit around telling people fortunes? Surely, they have other things to do? And even if a spirit does wish to say something, there's no guarantee that the spirit has the best interest of the petitioner at heart. It's a bit like standing on a corner with your mouth open, asking strangers to pop candy in your mouth. Don't you think?"

"I do not think. I KNOW."

"Really? Hmmm…Somehow I doubt that".

There was a pause in the darkness. "Do you not know that Ranma and Akane are destined to be with each other?"

"That's not fate, that's two puzzle pieces that fit together. It's based on who they are and human interaction. It's a bit like throwing a ball in the air – while there's a faint possibility that may not come down, you can be pretty certain that it will," Kasumi replied.

The darkness countered, "But there are more than two puzzle pieces here, and I can see how they all fit together. Just as you're sure that the ball will fall, I can show you how things are most likely to be."

"So, you're really the Wheel of the Most Probabilistic, then?"

"FINE. Have it your way, impertinent child. Do you want to know what's going to happen or not?"

"Now, now… there's no reason to get snippy about things. Why do you want to show me the future anyway?" Kasumi asked.

"I don't really. I could not care less actually," the darkness admitted.

"Then let's go home".

"Unfortunately, " Kasumi could hear the weariness in the darkness, "I'm sort of stuck here until I do."

"Which means?"

"Which means, I'm going to end up haunting you until you deal with me."

Kasumi sighed. Unfortunately, in her life, she had to deal with the spirit world more times that she would like to admit, including a couple of spirit possessions. A small part of her would have loved to blame these occasions on Ranma, but the truth was that the town of Nerima seemed to attract the weird and supernatural – Ranma and crew were just the latest weirdness to be snared by the town. If she had to put up with the ghosts, why couldn't one of them be her mother stopping by?

She sighed again. "Fine. Let's get this over with." Kasumi grabbed the control lever, pulled it toward her, and then released it. As the lever snapped back, the wheel spun faster. The flashing lights from the mirrored surface began to merge into a single light, and within that light an image formed. Kasumi saw the town's graveyard where her mother was buried. Ranma entered the image wearing a tuxedo and carrying four sets of roses, three yellow and one red. He approached one of the family head stones. The name "Kuno" was at the top of the stone. He laid one of the yellow rose clusters near the name "Kodachi". He then approached another family headstone that Kasumi knew well. On one side of the stone was the name "Ukyo", under which Ranma laid another yellow rose bouquet. On the other side of the stone, was the writing "Xian Pu" under which Ranma laid the last bunch of yellow roses. He then moved to the front of the stone. Under her mother's name, Kasumi saw the name "Akane". Ranma laid the red roses there. After standing before the stone with his head bowed for several minutes, he left the graveyard and threaded his way home through the street of Nerima.

Once Ranma reached the Saotome residence, he went in and changed into a white robe. He then joined his parents and Soun in the back room of the house. On the floor were three sharpened tantos. Kasumi watched as Genma committed seppuku with Ranma as his second. Ranma then followed his father with his mother as second. Finally, Nodoka killed herself with Soun as her second. Kasumi's father than sat down on the floor in the death room and cried. The vision then ended.

As the wheel slowed down again, Kasumi spoke to the darkness. "Well, that was very sharp image, pun intended. Can I leave now?"

The background whispering paused, as if stunned. Then it replied. "That's it? I show you a picture of your extended family doomed and damned, and that's your response? You didn't ask about yourself or Nabiki?"

Kasumi dismissed the question with a wave of her hand "Oh, I'm sure Nabiki ran away to the US or Europe. She's shown leading a life surrounded by money and little else. I suppose I'm stuck rotting away at the dojo taking care of my father whose now totally incapacitated. Was that about right?"

The darkness was silent. Kasumi's eyes hardened, something no one had seen in a long time. "What? Do you really think I am that much of an idiot? All this mystery, gloom, and doom. 'Oh Kasumi. Your life is to be dark and tragic. You need to run away now and save yourself'. Was I suppose to grab Akane and take her away as well? Split her and Ranma up forever? Or maybe just my fleeing the scene would create a self-fulfilling prophecy? Did I leave something out?"

The whispers hissed back "So, the little girl thinks she's so important. What if I said that you were powerless to stop the vision? You are just a spectator, as you have always been!"

"I'd say that you even more foolish than you think I am" she replied coolly and calmly. "The power of the observer has been proven over and over again. Besides which, if you think this 'little girl' hasn't been up to her neck it the past craziness of Nerima, you're not only more foolish than I, you're also blind and deaf."


	3. The Second Vision

Chapter 2: The Second Vision

Kasumi felt a shudder pass though her, and her surroundings seemed to shake and fade, then snap back to themselves.

"Oh my. I'm sorry. Was it something I said?" she asked with a kind smile. "You *did* realize that that instead of running away, I could opt for stopping the vision."

The darkness sighed. "Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. There are many paths to that vision. Any of the players could initiate the final sequence leading to it. You cannot block all the players."

"And who are these players?" Kasumi asked.

Before the spinning wheel, a low narrow metal table appeared. On the table were thirteen cards. Each was a beautiful miniature painting, a little larger than Kasumi's hand. On each card was someone she knew. The first was a picture of Ranma standing back-to-back with his alter ego Ranko wearing identical red Chinese shirts and black pants. Behind them in the painting was what appeared to be either large dust devil or a small tornado. The next card was Akane standing in a "ready" position on the dojo floor wearing her gi surrounded by her red battle aura, illuminating every inch of her small frame. Her forward attacking hand was not held in a fist, but was extended palm up with a small ball of fire floating above her palm. The third card was Nabiki's, which showed her standing in a tan business suit in front of mounds of gold and cash.

The next three cards were the "adults" in Kasumi's life. Her father's card showed him sitting in a row boat. He was crying a fountain of tears strong enough to shoot over the sides of the boat, so the boat was sitting in a river of his tears. Genma's little painting showed him lying on his side facing the viewer, resting on the back of his slumbering panda form. Behind Genma was the background of a ruined bamboo field. Resting in front of the two reclining figures was a pile of spoiled half-eaten food. Nodoka's card, next to her husband's, was a dismal picture as well. While Nodoka was wearing a lovely kimono, half her figure stood in shadow. The eye visible in the image was streaming tears. She stood facing the viewer holding her katana in the drawback position. Kasumi was sure she knew what the follow-through swing was going to be used for, and the blade was already bloody.

Kasumi was pleasantly surprised to see the next two cards. There was nothing alarming about Ukyo's card. Ukyo stood wielding her battle spatula wearing her standard cook's uniform. Behind her was the central room of Ucchan's restaurant. On the counter were piles of food, her prized okonomiyaki most prominently displayed. After Ukyo's card was Ryoga's, Ranma's perpetual rival. The lost boy was leaning on a boulder with the barest hints of a smile on his face – something Kasumi had rarely seen. The little pig P-chan was sitting on top of the boulder, about at eye-level with the young man, while behind them both was a wall of rock. A green battle aura surrounded the boy, the pig, and, surprisingly, the boulder. Kasumi studied the picture, and then looked at Genma's and Ranma's cards. A small frown crossed her features as she went back to stare at the little pig.

The Kuno siblings followed. Takewaki was wearing his samurai outfit holding two swords, one in each hand. Kodachi was wearing her gymnastics outfit wielding two ribbons. Both had angry (or would "mad" be a better word?) expressions on their faces. In the background behind each was a wall of roses; black for Kodachi and red for Takewaki. The oddest thing about the cards was the weapons. Takewaki's left sword was broken, about a third of the way from the hilt. Likewise, Kodachi's right hand ribbon was raggedly shortened, missing at least half its length.

Happosai's card struck Kasumi as extremely unusual. The old pervert ("Oh my! I shouldn't have thought that.") was standing with his arms crossed looking out at the viewer. He was wearing a black master's gi with a black shirt covering his chest. His pipe was missing from the picture and his face was serious. Behind Happosai, was a cloth background composed of four solid quadrants. The upper left quadrant was white. Moving clockwise through the quadrants, the other three colors were red, green, and blue. It was such a simple design and Happosai looked so dignified. Kasumi felt that it did not match the man that lived in her house.

The last three cards were the Amazons. Shampoo stood in her battle clothes holding her feline alter ego. Both the white and purple cat and the young lady had the same self-assured smile on their faces. Leaning against Shampoo right side was one of her bonborris. She stood in a dry creek running through a barren land. Mousse wore his usual white Chinese robes on his card. He stood tall without his thick glasses, both hands holding long swords raised straight out and up toward the viewer. At Mousse's feet stood a white duck with raised wings, mirroring his uncursed form. Behind Mousse was a wall of weapons.

The only way Kasumi would have recognized Cologne's picture was by the title of the card. Cologne's face was not visible anywhere in the blackness under the hood of her robe. The robe was visible only against the shadowy background due to a dim light behind the figure. Looking at the card, Kasumi felt only sadness emanating from the figure.

After she looked at the cards, Kasumi turned to the wheel and said "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For the knowledge that Ryoga was cursed at Jusenkyo, and that Akane's pet is his cursed form. It is something I'll have to deal with when I return home." Another shudder passed though Kasumi. Her surroundings seemed to shake and fade, then snap back again. She resisted the urge to smile. "Oh my. I seemed to have offended you again."

"You can not offend Fate, child".

"You mean Most Probabilistic?" Once more there was shudder, and once more she struggled to keep a straight face.

The whisper sighed again. "Why are you being so stubborn? I am only trying to save you pain."

"Ah yes. You are supposedly doing *me* a favor by kidnapping me and holding me here – wherever 'here' is."

"As opposed to having you beat yourself to death trying to stop which cannot be stopped?"

"So, you say. Do you have a point to make with these cards? The artwork is nice, but I already know what these people look like."

"Fine," the darkness huffed. This was a slight hiss and a rectangular divot appeared in the hub of the wheel. "Choose any player and place their card in the hub. Then pull the level again."

Kasumi looked over the cards with a thoughtful expression. She reached for Genma's and placed it in the divot, then pulled the lever again. The flashing lights merged once more and an image appeared. It showed Genma sneaking into Ukyo's restaurant one night and slitting her throat. The next two nights, Genma chose two random apartments and killed two other women. On the fourth night, he crept into the Cat Café and killed Shampoo. The vision showed the town becoming alarmed about a serial killer in their midst. Three more nights followed with three more random murders, all women. On the eighth night of his spree, Genma killed Kodachi. Ranma became concerned about Akane. Genma worked to convince Ranma to take Akane on a training trip. After another night and another murder, Ranma took the bait and left with Akane. Between the isolation, the stress, and the loss of three friends, the couple's needs lead them to finally consummate their relationship. Meanwhile, Genma killed four more times, bring the count to an even twelve. Then he stopped. The police were completely baffled by the assailant that could come and go without a trace. And the trail went completely cold without any further murders.

Afterwards, Akane found herself with child, so she and Ranma got married. Once the marriage was performed, Soun fulfilled his promise to Genma and transferred the dojo to Ranma. Since Ranma (now at age 19) was not legally an adult yet, the property was placed in Genma's care. Genma promptly sold his house and the dojo, throwing both the Saotomes and the Tendos out onto the streets. Genma then took the money and went into hiding. The stress took its toll on Akane and she had a difficult pregnancy, leading to her death and loss of the baby upon childbirth. After her funeral, Ranma left to find Genma and bring him back to Nerima. Once he did (for there was no way to escape a vengeful Ranma), the vision ran to its preordained conclusion. With the seppuku ceremony, the image faded and the wheel slowed.

Kasumi stood tapping her chin. "I see…"

The whisper started up again, stronger than ever. "Choose any card, any one of the players. Each player will start a unique sequence, but the final outcome is the same. Go right ahead, we have all the time in the world."

"No, there's no reason to work through them all. I can see where this is going."

"Though out the vision you watched, you were in no position to stop Genma. If you had tried, *you* would have been one of the twelve victims. It's the same with any of the players and their sequences. Xian Pu will try and eliminate her rivals, just as she always swore. Happosai will be trying to prove his mastery over Ranma leading to a town wide disaster. Your own father will prove his ineptitude with one more wedding attempt leading to a battle royale. It goes on and on…"

"Yes, yes, I understand what you're trying to say. All though I don't like it, I must thank you for showing me the truth."

"Then you'll leave? You will allow yourself to survive?"

"What? Oh heaven's no." Kasumi focused on the wheel again and removed Genma's card from the hub. "Most of what you shown me are a pack of lies. Genma? Murder someone? He's a coward and a sneak-thief. He would sell his only son for a sandwich, and he has. But there is a one limit to how far he would go – to actually slit the throat of an innocent is beyond him. Kill Ukyo? Anytime he's fought Ukyo in the past, he's lost. And Shampoo's even better than Ukyo. Besides, to get to Ukyo, he'd have to go though her devoted ninja, and Konatsu can give Ranma a run for his money, never mind Genma. Additionally, the Cat Café is guarded by Mousse – Genma wouldn't stand a chance. And there isn't a force on earth that could help him if Cologne became involved."

"But you thanked me for showing you the truth…"

"And you did. I couldn't figure out why Genma was in such a hurry to have Akane and Ranma marry so young. Now I know. It fits him perfectly. Of course, I don't know how he would think that he'd escape Nabiki, not to suggest that Ranma wouldn't kill him. But I think you'll agree that it would be easy to stop this. I only have to whisper in Nabiki's ear and this will never be a problem. Besides, I have no intention of letting Ranma and Akane marry before they are legally adults now."

Once more everything shuddered, this time longer than before. Kasumi ignored it and gathered the cards into a pile which she slipped into a pocket of her night gown. She then began rolling up the sleeves of her gown. She could see where this was going.

"Letting Ranma and Akane marry?" The whisper was loud and cold now. "Who the hell do you think you are? You have no place in any of this. You are a house-keeper. An errand girl. A surrogate mother to your sisters. You are not their real mother. You are not your father's wife. There is no one who respects you in that house. They ignore you and take advantage of you."

Kasumi's eyes flashed, and then she regained her self-control. Very smoothly, she replied, "I am the Matriarch, a position I inherited from my mother. All of them draw strength from me. I'm the one who binds their wounds, who builds them up, and who can allow them to face the world again. Father died the day my mother died. *I* was the one who dragged him up from the grave. Respect me? Do you think any request I make would be ignored? If I snap my fingers, Nabiki, Akane, and Ranma are at my beck and call. If I ask them to do a task, they obey without question. Name a parent with that power. Not even Genma would refuse me a request. Granted, I don't abuse the power, but it's there and it's real."

She had finished with her sleeves and now bent down to rip the hem of night gown, giving her legs greater mobility. The Voice ignored this.

"You have no life! You have no plans! There's no man beating down your door!" yelled the Voice (there were no whispers now). "What would happen should Ranma and Akane somehow marry and the dojo is theirs?"

"Then it's *my* time." Kasumi stretched theatrically and continued. "Do you honestly think my sister and her husband would throw me out? I will go to college and I will pursue my dreams. As for men, I'm very aware of how I look." She waved her hand dismissingly, a very un-Kasumi like gesture. "When I am on the beach, men fall over themselves trying to get my attention. There isn't a man I can't wrap around my finger if I wished. But first, I *will* fulfill Mother's last wish. I will see my sisters to adulthood, with or without Father's help!"

This time when the shuddering started, Kasumi watched the wheel very carefully out of the corner of her eye. She saw that the unmoving hub remained static, despite the fading and shimmering of the rest of the slowly spinning wheel. When her surroundings snapped back into focus, the Voice (now clearly an older female's voice) raged:

"You arrogant little pawn. You are a delusional insignificant Japanese barbarian! *FATE* has decreed that your family is doomed and there's nothing you can do to stop it. You haven't the wit to save yourself!"

"Bingo." Kasumi thought quietly. That was the last clue she need. It was time to roll the dice and pray. "THERE IS *NO* FATE!", she yelled. "You are just a misshapen old woman huddling in a mud hut, hiding in a village lost in the Chinese mountains. You're praying the government doesn't notice you and blow your precious community to pieces. The truth is, you have *nothing* they want. Otherwise, you'd all be dead! Face it! YOU ARE JUST A USELESS VENOMOUS RELIC!"

She heard the in-taking of breath, and felt the ancient woman's rage. Everything around her shuddered and shook, fading in and out of "reality". Everything that is, but the wheel's hub – the center of this manifestation. The old hag screamed "HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME! YOU HAVE NO HAND IN THE FUTURE!"

"YOU'RE WRONG THERE! I HAVE TWO HANDS! FEEL THEM!"

Kasumi had been around martial artists all her life. She had the basic training in many forms, and she was an adept at Tai Chi. She knew how to throw a punch. Her fist slammed into the divot Genma's card had occupied. She felt something pop inside the wheel and heard a grinding sound start up. The image of the wheel firmed up as her opponent realized her mistake, but the elder was too late. Kasumi grabbed the tripod stand and pressed harder. The grinding sound grew louder and the slowly turning wheel began to vibrate. But, smoke began pouring around her hand and pain shot up her arm.

"GIVE UP GIRL! YOU CAN NOT DEFEAT ME!"

"NEVER!"

She braced herself and shoved even harder on the divot. The rippled glass on the spinning tiles began to crack, and white light was pouring through the breaks. Her entire arm felt like it was on fire, and she could smell her hand burning, but she would not let up.

"I WILL KILL YOU, GIRL!"

Kasumi wrapped her leg around a leg of the tripod to provide a better bracing point, freeing her other hand. She grabbed the control lever and began yanking it forward and shoving it back. With each motion, she shouted her defiance "I WILL... NEVER... GIVE UP… MY FAMILY". There was a tearing sound from the wheel and it ground to a halt, smoking. She disengaged from the wheel, spun around, and then jumped forward, slamming her shoulder into the wheel. There was a tremendous cracking sound and Kasumi lost herself in an explosion of light spilling from the machine.

Next Chapter: Chaos


	4. Chaos

Chapter 3: Chaos

Kasumi groaned and tried to sit up but felt small hands hold her down. "Sshhhh. Lay still," a small voice told her. "You're badly hurt. Let us help you".

"Uhh…Who are you?"

"Friends," a second voice said. It sounded like a child's voice.

"Where are we?"

"Not where you were. We are somewhere safe," A third voice said.

"You sound like children. What are your names?"

"We have no names. Usually we are called 'Hey you,'" laughed the second.

"Occasionally, the mages assign us numbers or A, B, or C if they need more than one of us," added the first voice.

"Please excuse this question, but what are you?" continued Kasumi.

"Hmmm. That's a good question," responded the second voice. "I suppose we are spirits, imps, or sprites. Ideas that have become animated by a Kami's blessing. Not the unborn, but the never-born. We spend our time gathering power to become more than we are."

"We also spend our time learning. Mages summon us to do odd jobs for them. They must pay us in knowledge and magic. If they are sloppy, we can trade some of the magic for life force or Chi as it is sometimes called," the third chimed in.

"I cannot see you," Kasumi stated. "I cannot see anything!" Panic began to filter into her voice.

"Hush now," The first said in a comforting voice. "Your eyes have been badly burned, but we may be able to fix them *if* you stay calm".

"I'll try."

"Good. Besides, there's nothing to see right now. Mortals cannot see us, and our environment is unformed right now."

"Unformed? Where are we?" Kasumi asked again.

The third responded "We are at a beginning. A clean start. There's infinite potential, but nothing real yet. With the power you took from Henna, we were able to bring you here. We can also use the potential around us and a little untainted energy to heal you, but it's very important that you stay calm. "

The first cut in, "We need to get started. The longer she's here, the more likely Actuality will start."

"Wait. Henna? The power I took from her?" Kasumi asked.

"All right, if we answer this, then you have to promise no more questions until after we fix you up."

"Fine. I agree."

"Henna was the woman who summoned us to drive the manifestation. Henna's not her real name, but it's a close pronunciation. You fought her and broke the manifestation. When you did that, you prevented her from re-claiming the power she had to place into the spell. She also lost the power she had to spend to summon us. Her original plan was to pay us with your Chi, and take back her power."

The first continued "We took the lost power and brought you here instead. Not a very big sacrifice on our part – most of the power was tainted and was better used up than added to our own stores. We kept the purer forms"

"Besides" the third chuckled, "you're much more admirable the she is."

Kasumi felt her face begin to flush, but she was saved by the second voice. "O.K. No more. We need to do this before time starts ticking." The second addressed Kasumi directly, "Ma'am, I sorry, but this is going to get personal. We need to find out where else you're hurt. Your eyes and your hand are pretty obvious, but we need to check further. Keep in mind we aren't mortal. We have no eyes to see yet, just our hands. Sex has no meaning for us, and there is no hunger in our touch."

"Oh my. All right. Do I need to take off the night gown?"

The second laughed quietly. "No ma'am. Just like sex has no meaning to us, neither does your night gown. Now please relax."

Kasumi did as she was asked and felt small hands touching her body. One set started gently at the base of her neck, and ran around the back. They swept over her head, mussing her hair. The hands came over the top of her head to rest on her face. They pushed gently around her cheeks and mouth. Then something weird happen (as if being touched by the small hands wasn't weird enough), the hands seemed to press forward into her face to touch her skull, but she could no longer feel the hands on her skin. Elsewhere, another set of hands swept around her hips then moved down the *inside* of her pelvis, a place that shouldn't be possible if Kasumi was alive (She was alive, wasn't she? At least she felt alive…). The last set started at the tip of her tailbone and then began to move up her back bone, gently checking each bone before moving up her spine (wasn't she laying on her back?). Her only thought was "Oh my! I feel as if I'm nothing but a skeleton."

The set of hands on her head swept her skull then moved back to her eyes. She could almost feel the hands gently working through layers of skin and tissue, and then withdraw. The second voice commented "The back of her eyes are damaged. I think it would probably heal by itself – it seems more over-stressed than anything else, but we can help it along. Her skull's fine, so I'd rather not go any deeper."

"No, that's O.K." Kasumi could hear the smile in the third voice. "I think we are playing her mind enough as is. Why don't you check her rib cage?"

She felt a slight tingle in her upper back. "Ma'am, your shoulder blade is broken and you have a few cracked ribs. Make really sure you don't move."

"All right." Kasumi whisper to the first voice. "Although, shouldn't I be in a lot more pain? Is my spinal cord intact?"

"It's fine. We're blocking the pain. It's not really going to add anything to the experience, so we figured you could do without it"

"That's all right. I'm not missing it."

Soon, the exam was finished and the healers reviewed their patient. The second took the lead "We should take care of the shoulder first and make sure nothing else serious is hiding there. Then the eyes, and finally, her hand. We have enough extra power and there's enough potential around us to do this right."

"Agreed. Back first", the other two voices chimed.

Kasumi felt heat on her shoulder blade. It started low and comfortable, but then grew hot. A wave of pain caused her to gasp. "We're sorry! There's only so much we can stop!" cried the children's voices.

Kasumi shuddered. "It's O.K. It's O.K. Do what you have to, just try and do it quickly."

The pain intensified, and then stopped suddenly. Kasumi sat up and took stock of herself while working to get control of her breath. Slowly she rotated the shoulder. "Not bad. A little stiff, but not bad at all. Nice job children" she added in a motherly tone. She heard the spirits sigh.

"Cool. That's great," the third said with relief. "Let's do you eyes now. This shouldn't hurt at all."

"It's more like we're removing an excess of energy than having to shove something back together again. You should probably lie down again though." added the first.

"We should do your hand at the same time. It looks pretty bad. You may want to skip seeing it."

"Oh my. How bad is it really?" she asked. Kasumi start to check her left hand with her right, only to have one of the voices grab her right.

"Look, we can fix it. Isn't that good enough?" asked the second.

"I suppose so." Kasumi said doubtfully.

"We fixed your back. Please trust us."

"Fine. We'll do it your way." She decided to be a little more supportive. "I trust you." Kasumi swore she felt the spirits smile at her.

"That's great! Just lie down again. We'll take care of you."

As she did, Kasumi could almost feel the spirits now – one at her head and two along her left side. "What just changed?" she wondered. She felt a child's hands touch her eyes, and it was as if water was pouring into her eyes. The left hand felt encased, as if wrapped in cotton. Then her eyes cleared and she found herself staring into bright blue sky, dotted here and there with pure white clouds. "Done!" exclaimed one of the sprites.

Kasumi sat up and looked around with her new eyes. She was sitting on an expanse of white marble polished so fine it reflected the blue sky. Although the bright sky held no sun, the air was very warm. Next to Kasumi sat the three spirits. They were not really visible, just blurs in the pristine surroundings, but they did seem to have the shape of small children, and she couldn't help but think of them as such. She looked at her face in the polished marble. Everything seemed to be in place and her eyes looked perfect. She looked at the spirits again. "Thank you"

"You can see us?" one asked surprised.

"Sort of," Kasumi answered. She took stock of herself. "Oh dear." She said looking at her hands.

"What's wrong?" She heard the alarm in their voices.

Looking at her hands again, Kasumi explained. "You may have noticed that humans have a certain symmetry to their bodies." She pointed at her feet. "Our left and right sides are mirror images of each other."

"Okaayy… so what's wrong?"

Kasumi leaned down and place her hands near her feet. "Well, not to complain or anything, but you can see that I have a left and a right foot."

"And?…" one asked confused.

"But I have two right hands".

"Eeepp!" they cried as one. She felt herself tackled. "We're sorry! We'll fix it!" Her left hand felt encased again.

When they let her up a second time, Kasumi checked herself a little more carefully. Yep. All here. She looked at the three anxious shadows, giving them a sincere smile, "Much better."

"You smile a lot."

"So I've been told…I find it better than the alternative" Kasumi replied.

"What's the alternative?"

Kasumi thought about it. "Hmm…I think in this case, shear out and out hysterics probably would have been called for."

"Hysterics?"

She sighed. "Yes. It's when humans have had enough of the craziness in their lives that they lose touch with reality and go crazy themselves, at least for a little while." She continued, "Since I went to bed last night, I've been in a fight with a witch, dragged to two worlds not my own, met up with three nice spirits, lost my eyesight, gained back my eyesight, had my hand burned off…" She looked at them "It was almost burned away, wasn't it…" They gulped and nodded. "and had it restored, thank you very much. Add this to the normal insanity that hangs around my town – through which I somehow got involved with aforementioned witch, *and* the necessity to get back to my family to warn them that a new player has pulled up to the table, I'd say that hysterics is definitely an option."

"Ummm…wasn't that little speech slightly hysterical?" asked the tallest of the spirits.

Kasumi held up her hand with her thumb and forefinger spaced slightly apart. "A little." she replied with a small smile. She looked up at the sky. "I thought you said there was nothing to look at?"

"There wasn't until you opened your eyes."

"Oh my. I see what I expect to see – quite literally. So I'm in an area of clean Chaos. Very interesting." Kasumi concentrated and a set of blue cushions appeared around her. "Likewise, change what you expect to see, and the world conforms. My hand must have been the easiest to fix." Her eyes twinkled. "Very, very interesting." She could almost see the jaws drop on her companions as she arranged the cushions around her. "Have a seat."

"Whoa…talk about being adaptable…" commented the middle height shadow.

"I've taken lessons from a young man in my care who is the king of adaptability. Once his eyes and ears confirm something, he doesn't waste time denying the situation. I'm trying to decide if I've ever heard the words 'That's impossible' from his mouth – I doubt it. He'd have a blast here – probably quite literally." Kasumi ran her mind through some of the more esoteric reading she had done over the years. "Hmmm…I need a place than can be secured." She looked at the three shadows and spoke firmly. "All right, please listen. I am grateful for what you've done. You've asked for no payment…"

"We got it when you broke Henna's wheel and …"

"Shh...Please don't interrupt. As I was saying, I'm grateful for your help, but if you wish to stay, whether it be for your own amusement, good will, or the hope of a contract, you'll have to be subject to a small Binding." She held up her hand to cut off the smallest sprite from interrupting. "The Binding is this – in return for the right to stay with me in the boundaries I'm about to define, you cannot work against *any* goal I deem worthwhile, including my general well-being. You don't have to help, and I'm not going to trap you here – you're free to leave at any time – but my word is law otherwise."

"Are you a mage?" asked the smallest.

"No. I'm not. I'm hoping to be a healer, but my sensei felt I need a broad background. Besides, anyone can shape clean Chaos, even someone without the Gift. Same with placing a Binding," she replied.

"Who is your sensei?" asked the tallest.

"First things first. Do you accept the Binding?"

"That's easy. Yes."

"I'm in. Yes."

"You're a lot more fun than the Chaos. Yes."

The tallest asked Kasumi "So, what are the boundaries?"

"Take a look for yourselves…". Kasumi picked up a cup of tea from a low table that appeared before her.

"Whoaa…" What had been an infinite sheet of marble was now an enclosed park of grass surrounded by a tall stone wall. The park was a square about two kilometers on each side. There were no entrances or exits to the park. Everywhere, there was lush grass dotted with cherry trees in full bloom. The land was not flat, but consisted of small rises and falls. At various low points in the landscape, there were small ponds with fountains. The fragrance of the cherry trees filled the air.

"This is so cool…"

"It would take way too much power for us to create this…"

"The advantage of being a living person, as you're well aware." Kasumi responded. Then she frowned slightly. "I thought you had no eyes?"

"You gave us your trust," one replied. "Your blind trust. That meant you gave us a certain amount of power from your Chi, without restrictions on how we used it. We used a fair bit when we healed your hand to shape the Chaos properly. But we decided to spend the rest on expanding our senses. We had touch and hearing, but we added sight and smell. Just as well – I really like the smell of the cherry blossoms."

Kasumi sighed. "It's probably good that I'm not a mage, I seem to blunder into things like that."

"Perhaps." replied one of the other spirits. "You actually asked permission before you issued the Bind. A real mage would have just forced the Bind on us. On the other hand, you seem to have Karma in your favor. You (or rather Henna) drew us as your companions. We have no interest in seeing your hurt or draining you dry. It's not who we are, or rather who we wish to be."

"Besides," added the last, "your Chi will re-generate. Yet another advantage of being a living person." Kasumi would have sworn she heard a smile in that voice. "And we didn't take *that* much."

'Once more, I prove am an idiot.' she thought to herself ruefully. She tucked her legs up under her, and continued thinking while her guests were distracted by the park. 'Well, somehow, someway, I squeaked by. Beating myself up is not going to change anything, so let's review things from the top. I'm in the clean Chaos, where new worlds are born. I'm willing to bet Henna used a dead world that had run its course, somewhere we wouldn't be interrupted by a passing Kami. I could probably build a Gate with the Chaos, had I the training. Unfortunately, even so, I have no bearing where my world is, and I doubt my guests do either. They probably didn't do the kidnapping. The manifestation would have to be in place before I arrived and they were used to build that. Besides, they were a little too willing to help me – chances are the thoughts they were born from involved construction or repair. Shoot, what else was in the books Tofu leant me…'

"No good. I need to make this a simpler problem. Well there's the fall back thought – I'm on a desert island. I can leave, stay, or signal. Staying is not an option. That means signal (who?) or leave (to where?). What do I have to work with? Hmmm… Well, I can create anything I want from Chaos, but it will not give me something I cannot imagine. Nor can I reach beyond the chaos with anything created from it without extra work – Chaos cannot transcend itself, so I'd have to infuse it with magic or Chi. If it was possible to use up the Chaos, I might attract Kami-Sama's attention." Kasumi looked at her tea and imagined it to be a little hotter.

The last thought struck her. "Wait. Attract Kami-Sama's attention. There's an easier way to do that…we call it prayer. God may help those who help themselves, but them that don't ask, don't get." Kasumi closed her eyes and sat up a little straighter. She put herself in a meditative state and began chanting a prayer for help that Mother had taught her when she was little. Her family had given up going to temple when Mother died, even though they still visited her grave. Father blamed the Kami for not saving Mother. Tofu later told her he disagreed with her father. In his travels, he had seen too much in the world *not* to believe in some sort of higher power. Healing happened. People pulled together, and went on. New life replaced the dead. Somehow, someway, the sun rose the next day.

And so it did. Kasumi's opened her eyes and gasped. Sunlight filled her little park. She looked up in the sky. The fluffy white clouds were pushed to the side. Instead the sun (or Sun?) shone done everywhere. Kasumi glanced at her guests who were standing next to her and stared. They looked like children made of clear water and the Light bounced around inside of them. Their faces were still indistinct, but Kasumi had never seen anything more beautiful. They stood transfixed until the normal light returned as did the fluffy clouds.

"Are you all right?" Kasumi asked.

"I remember…" the tallest one said, still filled with light. "I remember the way back to the Temple".

"Me too.", added both the others also shining internally.

"The temple?"

"No, *THE* Temple", the center of Heaven. Kami-Sami's home. We can leave the Chaos without being summoned."

'Well, that's a start,' thought Kasumi. "I don't suppose you could take me with you?" she asked the child out loud.

"Afraid not – one of the disadvantages of being a living person". The spirit threw her a side-long glance with the barest hint of a smile. "But, as the saying goes, this isn't over yet". It sat down lost in thought. The middle spirit began to pace, and the little one stayed standing.

Kasumi stayed where she was, watching them. The little one turned to her, "Kasumi, you mentioned your sensei. Who is he or she?"

Kasumi pulled her legs out from under her and pulled them up to her chest, leaning her head on her knees. See looked at the spirit. "I don't remember telling you my name. I may be a little inexperienced, but I'm not *that* inexperienced."

The spirit sitting down shrugged and said, "Kami-Sama told us. Your name is Kasumi Tendo. You have a father, Soun, and two sisters, Nabiki and Akane. You have a brother-of-sorts named Ranma Saotome. You also have a grandfather…"

"Of sorts" cut in Kasumi.

"Of sorts" agreed the spirit, "named Happosai".

"That's about right. Since Kami-Sama told you, I assume it's safe for you to have the information."

"So, please tell us about your Sensei."

"And what happened to your Mom?" and the pacing spirit.

She sighed. While it no longer hurt quite so badly, the emptiness never left. "My mother was my first sensei. She taught me a martial art call Tai Chi. I became good at it – still am. I practice it today when my family is away. It does wonders for my self-control, a skill I need a lot given my family."

"Why do you wait until they are away?"

"Mother caught a very virulent disease when I was nine years old. They called it cancer, and it moved very fast. Within two months of the diagnosis, she died. Afterwards, any time my father saw me practicing, he'd lock himself in his room for two days. This frightened my sisters, so I learned to practice where he couldn't see me."

"My current sensei is Doctor Tofu Ono. I first met him when I was seven years old. He looked to be about 28 years old at the time."


	5. Tofu

Chapter 4: Tofu

"Looked to be?"

"Hold on, I'll get there. Dr. Tofu became a good acquaintance of the family because my sisters and I always seem to be getting hurt, I'm afraid we were all tomboys then. He specializes in muscle and bone injuries, although he can treat the flu just as well. When Mother became ill, Dr. Tofu recognized the seriousness of the illness and practically dragged her to the Medical Center in downtown Tokyo. The other doctors kept saying Mother would be fine, but Dr. Tofu never said anything – he just looked very grim. He tried to tell Father that Mother was is a lot of danger, but Father never listened – not until after Mother died. After the first month of illness, Dr. Tofu began taking my sisters and me to the hospital every day. He would pick us up from school and take us over to see her, and then have us back before Father finished teaching."

"The day of her death, the hospital staff wouldn't let us see her at all, but at my Mother's request, he snuck me in by myself. When I last saw my mother, she asked me to take care of the family. I promised I would until my sisters grew up. I don't think Dr. Tofu liked that request, but he never said a word. My mother died that night."

The spirits also never said a word, they just listened.

"At the funeral, Father found out about the hospital visits – I think one of the other doctors said something in passing. Father was initially very angry and confronted Tofu in front of everyone. But, Dr. Tofu never said anything. He just looked at Father. Eventual, Father dropped his head, and Dr. Tofu placed his hand on Father's shoulder and led him outside. After that day, the two of them never really talked a lot. If they were in the same room, they exchanged pleasantries and small talk over drinks. Never seemed to mind each other's company, but never sought it out either. To this day, if you ask, Father will say Tofu is a fine man."

"I saw a lot of Tofu though. Anytime my sisters were hurt or sick, I was the one who brought them to him. He was the one who explained the facts of life to us, and made sure we saw the proper doctors. When I turned 11 though, things changed. The doc saw me sneaking out of my house one night (he said he was out for a late night stroll to clear his head). He followed me to an abandon lot and saw me practice Mother's Tai Chi. I never knew he was there until I had finished all my katas. Then he escorted me home, asking questions about my day-to-day life. He then told me to stop by the clinic after school tomorrow, and that it was fine if I brought Akane and Nabiki."

"After school, when I arrived, there were no patients, just his receptionist, Masuyo, and a new woman named Shizuka. The doc asked Masuyo to watch my sisters and told Shizuka to take me out back. When I got there, the backyard was set up for Tai Chi, and Shizuka began testing me. After a two hour workout, she sent me to get cleaned up. When I came downstairs again, Tofu, Masuyo, and Shizuka were chatting with Nabiki and Akane. There was also a prepared dinner bagged and ready to go. Shizuka told me that if I wished, we could come to the clinic twice a week. Shizuka would continue to teach me, and Masuyo would watch my sisters. I agreed, and my sisters didn't complain. I found out a little later that Doctor Tofu was the one preparing the meal. He always told me to drop the dirty dishes off at the clinic in the morning and he would get upset if I cleaned them."

"Things continued that way until I was nearly 16. Anytime Shizuka couldn't make it, Dr. Tofu would train me for an hour then help me review my school work. There was a backup for Masuyo anytime she couldn't make it. Every now and then, Doc Tofu would leave on a business trip, sometimes as long as a month, but the sessions continued, just with Masuyo ordering take-out for my family. I found out later that Tofu was paying for Shizuka's and Masuyo's time. He was also the one bankrolling the take-out."

"One day, Shizuka announced that I was done. She would continue to spar with me twice a month to keep up my skills, but there was nothing else she could teach me. Akane and Nabiki and stopped coming with me too, having found more interesting things to do after school. Masuyo became pregnant with her first child, who was a boy – every now and then I would babysit to return the favors. I continued to go the clinic twice a week anyway. It was a break from things at home and the doc would talk to me as an adult instead of a kid. I began to express an interest in medicine, and that's when he *really* became my sensei. He found texts for me to read and we discussed them during my visits. I learn all about the ancient medicines and their applications. I also learned all about magic, mysticism, and the natural order of the universe. While I had no Gift for it, as the doc would say, he felt a strong background wouldn't hurt, and often the "counters" to many magical ailments did not require the Gift."

"That's how you knew about the clean Chaos" one of the spirits chimed in.

Kasumi nodded her head and continued. "He also lent me books about basic anatomy. Later, when I asked about the latest treatment for Alzheimer's disease, he handed me a book about ancient herbs. He said I could learn that stuff in medical school when the time came. For now, I should concentrate on the stuff they wouldn't teach me and on the basics. He would also spar with me occasionally and made sure that I was visiting Shizuka at her dojo regularly (I usually just told Father I was going to a movie)."

"During the middle of my Senior year in school, things changed again. During one of our sessions, he told me that there would be a temporary doctor at the clinic for about four months. When I asked him why, he said that he had to go on a business trip, and that it was very important. I pushed him, but he refused to say more. He did add that if I wished, he'd write to me once a month, care of the clinic."

"'Why the clinic?' I asked him."

"He just smiled and said that old men should not be writing directly to pretty young women who had their whole lives in front of them. Especially not to their homes, where jealous fathers could find the letters. The doc then went on to ask about my applications to pre-medical schools. I explained that I just couldn't do that until my sisters had grown up. He turned his back to me for a few moments and seemed to wrestle with himself. When he turned around, his face had gone grim again, just like when my mother died. He looked at me and said that he understood, but I shouldn't slack off until then. He then gave me a stack of books to read and warned me that he quiz me when he returned. He relaxed as the visit went on, gave me a fatherly hug at the end, and sent me on my way. He was gone the next day and I didn't see him again for months. His letters said that he was in China, but he was awful vague about the purpose of his visit, and I couldn't write back to ask more direct questions."

"He was actually gone for six months, and those months were the longest of my life. My friends were planning for college. I was planning to maintain the house. A few were even talking about getting serious with boyfriends. I had no one like that in my life. Some were talking about sharing an apartment with their best friend. It hit me hard that my best friend was a man twenty years my senior. Here I was, finishing high school, but I had nothing in front of me but taking care of my family. I missed the doc something fierce. I also read every one of the silly books he gave me until I knew them by heart."

"After I graduated, he finally came back. As soon as I heard he was in town, I ran to the clinic. I was *not* happy with what I saw. He looked like he lost a fight with a threshing machine. There was a cast on his foot and a sling on his arm. His handsome face was bruised and there were bandages about his head. He must have had at least 100 stitches. I was furious! How dare he return to me like that! I lit into him like there was no tomorrow. Didn't he know how to take care of himself? I went on and on as I re-dressed his wounds and proceeded to make him dinner. Eventually, I ran down. The poor guy looked shell shocked. I had him saying "Yes, ma'am" and "No ma'am" to everything I said. Finally, I had mercy on the man and helped get him ready for bed with the aid of a duty-nurse (She was terrified of me too). I was almost out the door when it finally hit me. I, Kasumi Tendo, the girl who never raised her voice (ever), had just spent several hours screaming at an injured man. I ran back to his bedside, put my head in his lap, begged for forgiveness, and bawled my eyes out."

"Eventually, I calmed down. He just held my head gently and stroked my hair. I asked him what had happened. He eventually asked if I would believe a skiing accident. Once he saw the death glare, he just sighed.

'Well, it's nice to know I was missed.'

'Idiot.'

He sighed again 'Be glad you didn't see me last week. I heal very fast.'

'What happened?'

'I literally was in the middle of a war zone.' His eyes looked very sad. 'A lot of people died.'

'Was this in China?'

He nodded.

'But I didn't see anything like it on the news.'

'With any luck, you won't. Eventually, I'll tell you about, but not now.'

And he hasn't to this day."

"As the week progressed, I checked on him daily. After all, I had no school now. As promised, he was a fast healer. After seven days, all the stitches were gone. Three days after that only the cast on the foot remained. Two days after that, I realized I was in love."


	6. The Binding

Chapter 5: The Binding

"I had never been in love before. It was the most intense feeling I ever had. It frightened me and excited me at the same time. I wanted to shout about it to the world, but I had no clue what to do about it. I had no experience with it at all. So, I did what I always did, I talked to Doctor Tofu about it. I started talking in vague terms, broaching the subject by asking what he thought of love as an emotion. He said it was more than an emotion, that love was something in and of itself. It was a like a double-Binding between people filled with positive energy that allowed people to become more than the sum of the individuals. We discussed love between family members, romantic love, the love of ideas, neighborly love, and Divine love."

As time went on, I think Dr. Tofu began to understand what I was heading towards and began a concentrated effort to divert me. I ended up helping with patients, and receiving more and more medical reading. I fought back though – I dragged patients into our discussion (although I must admit many leapt willingly), and pushed for books dealing with the mind and emotions. Tofu returned fire with the suggestion that I needed to get out more, spend time with people my own age. He said that hanging with too many old folks and their fixed mindsets was bad for a young lady. I pointed out I was mentally older than many of my contemporaries due to my extended responsibilities. Those who had the same understandings as I did were busy with children or sick parents. Also, if old ideas were bad ideas, why was he having me read the ancient medical texts?"

"He attempted some matchmaking, but these failed miserably, driving home how different I was verses my former classmates. I was slowly backing him into a corner, so he decided to fight back directly. He began gathering news articles from journals under the pretense of a psychology study showing how May-December romances almost never worked out, and, even when the relationships held together, the younger member often ended up unhappy eventually, saddled with a mate that was sick or infirmed. This proved to be a major blunder on his part as I began remarking to him on how well he had recovered from his battle in China. I also causally remarked on how little he had changed over the last decade. Had he learned some remarkable anti-aging technique?"

"I also began to attack on a more physical front. I didn't throw myself at him – I had been raised to be a proper lady and a dutiful daughter (what else did I have?), but I began "spontaneously" grabbing his hand when making a point in an argument. I worked more with make-up to emphasize my eyes, which people had called my best feature. I also wore clothes that showed off my figure more. I knew I was starting to win when I could make him blush by simply holding his gaze. I realized he could have ended the game very easily by simply saying he was too busy at the clinic to see me, but he never did."

"Finally, I felt it was time to go in for the kill, so to speak. Summer was arriving, so I told him that some friends had invited me to go along to the beach with them. I also said that there was a guy I was trying to attract, so could he give me his opinion of some new outfits I had picked up? I saw pain flash in his eyes before he dismissed it with a cheery expression and readily agreed to my request, so I pushed ahead. The next day, I showed up at the clinic with several outfits I had purchased. I showed the doc various sun dresses and then excused myself to change into a stunning bikini. There was just enough cloth to allow my modesty to be comfortable. I put on a colorful wrap, hiding the bikini, and then walked back to Tofu as if to ask his opinion about the wrap. He was just remarking how nice it looked when I dropped the wrap – and, with one look, the poor man went down like a pole-axed cow. Not quite what I was hoping for there."

"I threw a robe on and ran over to him. To say that he was dazed would be a gross understatement. I gently slapped his face to try and bring him around while mentally swearing to myself. Gradually, he came back to reality. He looked straight into my eyes, saying nothing. I saw a terrible confusion of emotions with love and fear topping the list. Fear? Why fear? What was so terrible about me that he was so afraid? Granted, I had verbally ripped him apart when he got back from China, but I was pretty sure he understood why and believed my apology. In my confusion, I spoke, one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Had I just kept my mouth shut or let him talk first, or used different words, things might have been a little easier on us. It wouldn't have changed the big picture, but it might have afforded us a little breathing room. Heck, had I just switched the sentences around, we might have been better off." Kasumi stopped her narrative for a moment and closed her eyes. She shook her head sadly.

When she opened her eyes, she looked at her audience. All three glowing spirits were sitting near her now, hanging on her every word. "You three would understand the problem. Just the right word at the right time, or, in my case, the wrong word at the wrong time and everything goes sideways. I said the words then that now haunt me every night:

'Doctor Tofu Ono. Pay attention. I want you to know…'

All of a sudden, he wasn't there. His body was there all right, but the eyes had gone totally blank. As soon as the word 'you' left my lips, he just stared straight into my eyes, but was otherwise completely unresponsive." Kasumi broke down at this point and moaned as the memory re-surfaced. Then she lifted her head and screamed "NOOOOOO!" Tears poured down her cheeks and she kicked her feet, reliving the isolation of the last few years. She squeezed her eyes shut and howled again.

One of the spirits pushed her legs down, crawled into her lap, and hugged her. Kasumi felt the other two kneel down, and wrap their small arms around her as best they could. They may have been spirits, but here, in the clean Chaos, with Kami-Sama's Blessing and Kasumi's trust, they felt very real, as if they were mortal children. Kasumi couldn't look at them as she spoke: "How can you stand to be around me? You went out of your way to heal me and the very first thing I did was to place a Bind on you."

The spirit on her right spoke, "No, the first thing you really did was said you trusted us. Then you said 'Thank you' a couple of times. Then you *asked* us to accept a Binding. You gave us the option."

She cried out again, "But I never gave Tofu that option!"

"Naming, Calling, Binding. You didn't know the phrasing was dangerous." comforted the child in her lap. "Humans use that format all the time with each other. How many times have you heard a mother call her child like that?"

Kasumi just wept.

A voice from her left said, "How many times have you actually set out to Bind a spirit? If we weren't the first ones, I'd be very surprised. You didn't even use a formal Bind on us. You used a conditional Bind because it suited who you are."

The spirit on her right added, "The clues were really weak at best. The only real clue was the lack of aging, but the time span involved was short. He could be hurt. He had to heal over time. He could become emotional distressed over other people's suffering. He didn't feed on thought or emotions. Actually, he was the exact opposite – he worked to buttress others up in positive ways, always giving. On some level, you knew there was a bond between you already, but you could not know the consequences of it. Even if you were aware of Binding, you had no way to know that a Bind would work on him. Or even tell that he wasn't fully mortal."


	7. The Conversation

Chapter 6: The Conversation

Eventually, she calmed down again. She continued: "Later on, I learned that Tofu had been using magic to protect himself from an accidental Binding from me, especially when I had been pushing for a closer relationship. But the magic required a great deal of energy. When I said that I was interested in someone else, he cancelled the magic. That's why he was so afraid when I dropped the wrap. He realized he was still a person of interest to me, and he wasn't prepared."

The two spirits at her side backed off and sat down again as she continued. The spirit in her lap stayed there. It looked up at her and asked, "So, what did you do next after the doctor froze?"

Kasumi squeezed her hands tightly and went on. "When I saw the look on his face I asked what was wrong.

'Nothing', he replied."

"I got up and waited. He stayed in the same position on the ground."

"I told him, 'Doctor, you should get off the floor now.' He did so slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. 'Doctor?' No response. 'Tofu, are you there?'

'Yes,' was his only reply.

'I'm sorry if I shocked you, but I was trying to get your attention.' No response.

I looked at the ground. 'Doctor, are you mad at me?'

'No.' He just stared at my eyes.

'Then why won't you talk to me.? Why are you waiting until I speak?'

'Because of the Bind.' He stated woodenly."

"That stopped me cold. I knew about Binds from the books he had me read. I also knew that they took very little power. The possibility of a Bind was one of the restrictions that spirits had to suffer to dabble in the mortal world. People believed that Kami-Sama had created them as a means to allow the living to avoid the interruptions of the Other World.

'You're in a Bind?' I asked.

'Yes.'

'But you are human! Aren't you?'

He paused for a moment as the answer was neither 'Yes' nor 'No'. He then went on 'I'm not fully mortal.'

'How much is not fully?'

Again there was a pause. 'One of my grandparents was a non-mortal.' My mind was having trouble with this idea.

'Can you release yourself?'

'No.'

'How do I release you?'

'You cannot.'

'WHY?'

'For the same reason I will not release myself - because I will not let you,' he answered."

"The situation was starting to get to me: 'WHY THE HELL NOT?'

'Because I have no wish to end our friendship. Because I am stronger with the Bind – that strength will serve me well in my future tasks. Because, if I keep your Bind, no one else can Bind me without my approval. My vulnerability has been removed,' he replied."

"The bit about our friendship confused me, but I went after something else. 'Tasks? What tasks?'

'The tasks assigned me by the Council.'

'But you cannot do anything. You're just standing there! How are you suppose to do anything?"

'I'm standing here because you're in the room. When you leave, the Bind will not be active, even though it is still in place.'

'So, I have to leave? We cannot talk anymore?'

There was a long pause. 'We cannot talk face-to-face anymore.' The answer seemed incomplete."

"I felt a brief breeze of hope. I considered my next question carefully. 'Is there a way we can be in the same room and have a conversation where you are the one asking the questions?'

A longer pause. 'Yes.'

I resisted the urge to strangle the man I loved. 'WELL? WHAT IS IT?'

'My eyes must be bound.'

'So, if I blindfold you, you can ask questions?'

'Yes.' That answer came fast enough."

"I quickly ran over to one of his medical drawers and got out gauze. After I wrapped his head so his eyes were covered, Tofu suddenly slumped forward and felt around for a chair. He then threw himself into it. 'Damn.' was all he said."

"We sat there quietly for some time. Finally, he stood up. 'Please help me make some coffee. Then, I suppose, we have to talk.'

I don't think anything good has ever followed those words…"

* * *

><p>I filled the pot for coffee while he gathered the essentials. He moved remarkable well for a blindfolded man. He also exhibited a grace in his movements beyond what I noticed before. Once the coffee was made and I poured it, he tossed me a bag of cookies and then called his receptionist to cancel all the rest of his appointments for the day. The conversation got started after that:<p>

"Kasumi, do you know how old I really am?" he asked softly.

"You should be about 40, but you really haven't changed in the time you've been here."

He laughed a little. "Nice to know I'm aging gracefully. Kasumi, please listen to me. I have no reason to lie, and every reason to tell the truth. I am 152 years old. I pretty much looked this way (excluding times when I was healing) since I was 25 years old. I will probably look this way for another 10 years before the grey starts kicking in."

"What will happen then?" I asked.

"Well, based on the handful of my contemporaries that I've managed to run across, I'll start to age pretty much like everyone else. I'm not immortal, but I have been cleaning up on long term investments for a while."

"152 years?" Oh my, the man I love is insane. "But that would mean you were born around 1850 or so. What did you do for glasses?"

"Believe it not, they did have glasses back then. However," he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his glasses, "have a look." He tossed them to me.

They looked like normal glasses. I placed them to my eyes, and nothing changed. "There's no prescription in these." I placed them on the table.

"Nope. Just a disguise."

"So, what? Mild manner doctor by day, superhero at night?"

"Hmph. Oh yeah, I pick up my buddies Clark Kent and Peter Parker, then we go watch over Tokyo." He paused and then continued. "Believe it or not, people expect their doctor to have glasses. The disguise helps them to trust me more."

"You don't mind if I have a tough time believing it, do you?"

"Nope. Just please don't call the men in white coats yet."

"Okkayy, so what would you like me to do?"

"Just watch." As he said that, my coffee cup left my hand and rose into the air. The saucer from the table rose just under it. About half a dozen cookies floated out of the bag and begin orbiting the cup and saucer. Then *I* rose into the air. Not my chair, just me.

"Oh my! Didn't you know that it's wrong to lay your hands on a woman you are not married to?" Not the snappiest comeback, but I was surprised.

One of his eyebrows rose up, just visible over the blindfold. "As opposed to trying to seduce a man using a very well cut bikini?"

My face would have put a fire engine to shame. "I was not trying to seduce you." I responded primly. "I was merely trying to get your attention."

He sighed as everything drifted back into place, including me. "I'm afraid you did that very well."

I sighed too, and tried to remember everything I had read about Bindings. "You cannot break it?" I asked after a bit.

"I can, because I am three-quarters human, but the reasons I mentioned under the active Bind are still valid. Normally, a Bind like that would have no effect on me unless there was a strong emotional connection. To rid myself of it, I'd have to deny my connection with you. That means throwing you out my life for good."

"Oh" I said in a small voice.

"Don't get me wrong Kasumi. I never meant to lead you on. I was sent to Nerima because Nerima has a long history of supernatural events. When I got here though, I decided that those events were having too much of a negative impact on the community. I figured that the best way to serve the community was to set up this clinic, so I gathered a little seed money from my investments. And people *did* need my help. I got buried up to my armpits in trouble. People here should not have had to deal with some of the messes they were in."

"Like my mother's cancer?"

He put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes through the blindfold. "Yeah, like that. To this day, I don't know what caused that, but as soon as I saw the x-rays, I knew something was wrong. Nothing should have been that aggressive. So, I got involved. I took your mom straight to the hospital and tried to raise the alarm. Unfortunately, I'm not in the "good-ole boy" network, so I had a hard time getting people to listen up." I could hear the bitterness in his voice. Then he sighed. "To be fair, even if they had started treatment immediately instead of arguing with the new kid, it not sure anything would have changed. After that, it became a matter of minimizing damage, and I tried to take care of your family as best as I could until your father recovered from his grief – at least a little."

"But he never did." I added quietly.

"No, he never did. When I saw you in that lot two years later, I saw a little girl trying to cope with problems that adults would have a hard time with. I thought it was really unfair, and that you could use a friend. I failed your mother, I was hoping I would not fail you. I decided that you needed to have some freedom in your life and be able to dream, so I gave you what time I could."

"Were you helping other families as well?" I asked.

"Yes, and I still do. But no one was facing so many troubles as you were at the time. And you took it all so well. I found you to be a very admirable person, and I may have blundered a little there in responding to that over time."

"Huh?"

He paused thoughtfully. "Let's do a psychology exercise and look at *my* profile for a second. I'm a man who hasn't really aged, as opposed to everyone around him. Any where I went, things worked well for a while, but then people begin to notice that neighbor Tofu isn't playing by the rules, especially the big one."

"I see." I said. "Worst case is you're called a 'witch' and they try to burn you at the stake. Best case is they begin to avoid you until they need you. Either way, you spend a lot of time alone."

"Yep." said Tofu. "Now add to the profile that a crossroads is coming. I'm going to start joining the rest of humanity soon. I'm sure of this. My own mother passed the crossroads. She looks to be about 80 or so, which is very good considering that she's really 508. She also very happy to have joined everyone else. I know I will not live as long as she has (again there's ample evidence for how long I can expect), but my time to live is coming."

All right, it was a little out of character for me, but I couldn't help myself. "And suddenly you meet this gorgeous young woman who is the answer to all your dreams!" I teased.

He barked out a laugh. "And here I thought Kasumi Tendo was modest."

With a small-smile on my lips, I responded. "And I thought Tofu Ono was trying to allow me some freedom to dream."

Tofu sobered up. "Yes, you're right in some respects. I was supposed to be helping *you* achieve your dreams, not incorporate you into *mine*."

"So you tried to push me away a little bit. Be my uncle, not my friend. And I didn't let you get away with it."

"Hmph. No, you didn't. Unfortunately, nothing has really opened up for either of us."

"I don't really understand that one."

"Oh, let's put on this footing, Kasumi. Mind you, this is just an exercise, so brace yourself."

"All right."

"What if I was to ask you to elope tonight? Let's just run away to Paris and get married. Would you do it?"

I was about to answer 'Yes', but then my brain kicked in. There was a reason I wasn't in college. My promise to Mother still stood. Akane had four years to go to adulthood, and Nabiki wasn't there either. I sighed without answering, slouching into my seat.

"Exactly," Tofu went on. "I still have work to do as well. In some respects, I'm a soldier in the army. I can be thrown out of my bunk at an ungodly hour and ordered to battle. I too have made commitments, and they are very important. For what it is worth, they should expire about the same time yours do."

"Wait. Does this mean you really are interested in me?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, but neither one of us can act on it right now. So can we settle for being close friends for now?"

"Could we go on dates or something?"

"That's a little tough with the blindfold."

"Oh. So if you actually see me, you'll freeze up again?"

"Well now that I know there's an issue, I can fight the Binding without breaking it, since I am mostly human. But it probably won't be pretty. If I prepare well ahead of time, I can probably fake things well enough for a day in the park, but don't expect that daily or even weekly – it will take a lot of energy. Otherwise, without the preparation, I'll probably be fighting with myself and looking more than a little insane." He looked as if a thought just occurred to him. "Hmmm, I wonder if I can pass it off as love-struck…"

I held my breath as I asked the next question, "So how would a marriage work?"

Tofu smiled softly, "Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves?" I'm sure he could feel my blush across the table. "Actually, marriage is less a problem that you think."

"How so?"

"Well there are certain cases when two individuals, usually mortals, accept Binds from the each other. If the Binds are not cross-purpose, they end up modifying and re-enforcing one another, especially if there is affection involved. They'll also incorporate existing Binds."

"Oh my. What happens … Wait. That could serve as the definition of marriage."

"Yep. I don't think that's a problem if we decide to go that route," he said standing up and gathering the coffee cups unerringly. "Now you can help me with lunch, I'm hungry."

"One last question?"

"I doubt that but go on…"

"You mentioned the Council…who are they?"

"That I will not tell you. You're fully mortal, and there are things you should not know. Hell, I wished I didn't know them."

"Hmph. At least tell me what spirit type is in your blood…"

"Nope." He said as he retrieved fruit from the fridge.

"Why not?"

"Because you used up your last question. You'll have to guess."

"That's not fair!"

He grinned at me. "Consider it your punishment for the Bind." he joked as he popped a blueberry in my surprised mouth.

* * *

><p>Next: After Effects and the Second Binding<p> 


	8. After Effects and The Second Binding

Chapter 7: After Effects and the Second Binding

Kasumi stopped her narration at this point and lost herself in melancholy thought. The spirit on her right commented, "Well, it doesn't sound that bad. You know he was interested at least…"

"True, but it didn't make things easier. Our time together became very limited. We were lucky to visit twice a month. My duties kept me busy in the evenings, and now I had to avoid showing up during his office hours when people were likely to be there. If I did show up unannounced, my presence caused violent tics and spasms to occur within his muscles. Also, his perceptions were thrown as he strove to maintain control. If I could get a blindfold on him, things settled down immediately. That wasn't practical in front of other people. It would lead to awkward questions that shouldn't be answered. Sometimes, we would have to tough it out. He came up with an act that anyone in his presence could be hurt if I was there. That always cleared out the waiting room. Unfortunately, it wasn't always an act. If he was actually in the middle of a procedure when I showed up, the tics could really cause some real damage as Ranma once found out. Fortunately, Ranma could take it. Tofu worked to spread the rumors that if he and I were together, everyone should leave us alone." She paused for a moment, looking slightly miffed. "Bind or not, I do need to get even with him about Betty though."

"Who's Betty?" ask the spirit in her lap.

"Betty is the life size model skeleton he kept in his office. He claimed to me that she was the "other woman" in his life, and if he couldn't have me, Betty would have to do."

"Huh?"

"Oh, Tofu claimed he liked to dance. Since he couldn't take me dancing, he'd take Betty – usually after the two of us had been seen inadvertently. He'd sweep her around the office pretending to dance."

"Why would you say pretending?" asked the presence on her left.

"Because it was pretty obvious he hadn't a clue. How he managed to live that long and not know how to dance, I don't know. When I pressed him about it, he became mock injured that I didn't appreciate his dancing style. I told him that he had no dancing style, that he looked ridiculous, and should stop it. He agreed a little too readily." She fumed a little more.

"Didn't he listen?"

"Oh, he listened all right. From then on, after an accidental encounter, he took to running through the park with Betty on his back. If anyone was foolish enough to stop him, he claimed that he wanted to have a private conversation with me, but that Betty was always getting in the way. If that someone pointed out that it was Betty on his back and not me, he'd just exclaim his shock that Betty had managed to push me out of the way again. Or, if he was feeling really childish, he'd ask if they blamed him - He always preferred fat women to skinny women and that I should put on a little more weight if I wanted to be taken seriously." She snorted peevishly upon finishing that.

The spirit in her lap clamped its jaw shut and wrapped its arms about its chest in silent laughter. The other two studied the ground, not daring to raise their faces. The occasional restrained chuckles escaping from their lips indicated that they were losing their own silent battle. Kasumi glared at them which tipped the scales and let the laughter loose. "I'm not that thin," she scolded. "and it's not that funny."

"No, it's not," giggled the child on her right. "What's funny is your reaction to it. You appear so calm and collected, but he knows your sore spots and can push you off balance so easily using the dumbest things. Can your sisters do that?"

"No, they can't."

"But he can – I bet he can make you laugh too – a real honest laugh, not just a giggle."

Kasumi stopped scowling and let a small smile creep on her lips. "Yes, he can."

"Where is he now?" asked the spirit on the left softly.

"He's in a place called Ryugenzawa. He left about seven months ago in the middle of the night."

"He left without telling you?"

"No, he visited me by sneaking into my room and waking me up quietly. He had a full backpack with him ready to go. He also let me know that the clinic would have a temporary doctor and he asked if I could make sure everything was set for him." Kasumi's face became bright red though.

"You're blushing again" one of the spirits sing-songed at her.

"…"

"Oh my!" another mimicked her. "Did something happen? Maybe something that shouldn't have?"

"That's none of your business" she said in a sharp tone. Her blush deepened though.

"Kasumi and Tofu sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g" sang the two able to just step out of reach.

She tried to hide her face, but of course the smallest was still in her lap.

"Oh please," that one giggled to her, "Granted you're not as innocent as you pretend, but you're not that guilty either." The spirit leaned in and hugged her. The other two stopped their teasing and also came in to hug her. After a little bit, Kasumi's flush cleared and she lifted her face again. The spirit in her lap continued "Do you know why Tofu went to Ryugenzawa?"

"He left to look for something. That was all he told me."

"So, you haven't seen him since?"

Kasumi smiled again. "Actually, I saw him four months ago. He asked me to join him in Nagoya for a week. When he met me at the train station he was wearing a crisp suit and the blackest glasses you could imaging. He was also carrying a white cane."

"What for?"

"Blind people are sometimes trained to use canes to 'feel' there way through places. The canes are often traditionally marked white."

"That was clever."

"I thought so too. We had a wonderful time. Since we were away from friends and family, we could just drop everything and relax. Neither of us had to worry about tasks or chores. He had booked a couple of rooms at a really fancy hotel. We played tourist, and squeezed in as many 'dates' as we could. He also took me dancing to show me that he really could," she laughed. "It was too bad he had to keep the glasses on for the most part – there were only a couple of times he had 'saved up enough' to drop the act, but it was still wonderful."

"You just changed into a love struck young girl…" teased the child in her lap.

"Hush" She lightly bopped the spirit on the forehead with her fingertips. "Leave me my illusions. I think the best part was the present he had for me…"

"A ring?" one of them asked.

"Stop that – and how would you know that tradition anyway?" she questioned. As her audience made a point of looking remarkably innocent, she moved on. "He gave me the address of a local store near Ryugenzawa that I could send letters to him in care of. He didn't know how long more his task would go on, and he wanted us to stay in better contact. We could also arrange for phone calls through the store and his clinic as well.

"But he never told you what he was doing?"

"No, he just made me swear not to go near Ryugenzawa. So long as I stayed put, he promised to contact me at least once a week. Sometimes we got more in, but we always made it at least once. He also promised that if things went longer than six more months, he'd make another trip to Nagoya. But he was hopeful it won't go longer."

Kasumi sighed and looked at the spirits, "All right you three. Up. I want to stretch my legs. Let's go for a walk and think. As much as I enjoy your company, I still need to figure a way home. You have yours, now I need mine."

"Fair enough," answered the tallest.

As they walked, the spirits would wander away from Kasumi and then run back to her. They would climb the cherry trees and skip stones across the small ponds in Kasumi's park. They also took delight in running at the outer walls, something they could near but never touch – by whatever logic Kasumi had built the park, once you got within a certain distance, further efforts were not as effective. Kasumi remembered watching an American football game once where the penalty flags had been flying fast and furious. Eventually, the penalties stopped being 5 or 10 yards, but half the distance to the goal line – here, the walls were the goal line.

They also continued to ask her questions about her life and family. Nothing astounding or private, but about what she did during the course of her day. They asked her about preparing food, about Nerima, and about her friends. They asked about her siblings and laughed at Akane's and Ranma's antics. They also asked about her Tai Chi, about her schooling, what it was like to repair a wall after it had been knocked down for the sixth time, and adventures in babysitting. When she described the efforts involved in trying to wrestle a reluctant toddler into bed, they came down with an acute case of the giggles.

She marveled at their impromptu game of tag, not complaining when they made her the base. There was nothing supernatural in the way they ran, so long as you made allowances for the fact that they looked like backlit ice sculptures. Their hugs felt warm enough though. "They really are just children," she thought to herself. "I'm glad they can go back Home." She watched with alarm though as the tall spirit threw itself at one of the ponds. Kasumi has no idea if it could swim (or even if it would need to). The spirit hit the top of the water and the rolled as if it hit solid earth instead. Once it stopped rolling, it sat up and sighed.

"Are you all right?" Kasumi asked after running to the edge of the pond.

It looked up sadly, and stood up. Then it walked on the water toward Kasumi. "Almost. I almost felt real there."

"Drowning is not much fun though. You can ask my sister Akane," Kasumi replied. "Besides, you seem pretty real to me."

"But I'm not. I've never been alive, even though I'd like to be, very much. You are alive, Kasumi, and even when you die, after a short rest in Heaven, you'll be re-born. By some draw of the straws, I'm outside of the cycle of life and death," it said sadly.

She knelt down and placed her hands on the child's shoulder. "I understand (well, as well as I can anyway). But you are still real. You and your cohorts rescued me and healed me. You comforted me, teased me, and laughed with me – I'm not sure how you could be anymore real. Wasn't Kami-Sama's Blessing proof?"

The spirit smiled at her. "Kasumi, let me say this. I would certainly want you to be in my life if I was ever mortal."

Kasumi froze. She felt the *tiniest* twinge in her soul. *Naming*, *Calling*, *Binding* But it was *not* a Binding. The wording was so weak, and this was a spirit addressing a mortal – it could not Bind, not even if it had used stronger wording. Even if the child was mortal, no attempt could be forced on her. And the child never had any intention what so ever. But deep in her heart, Kasumi felt Sunshine pour down around her spirit. Humans couldn't be forced into a Bind, but there was another possibility.

She looked into the spirit's translucent eyes and made her decision: "I accept."

With a start, Kasumi felt her Chi flowing into the spirit, but she also felt the Blessing rising into herself. And with the Blessing, came Instructions. Following them, with her mind, she reached into the clean Chaos, pulled it in, and created more Chi for herself. She pulled the child closer. As the three way infusion of Blessing, Chaos, and Chi continued, blazing light surrounded them both. Then Kasumi seemed to hear a bell chime in her mind and the light faded. She loosened her hold to look at the child.

Her hands clasped the shoulder of a young girl. She had pale skin, sharp brown eyes and auburn hair that reached halfway down her back. She looked to be about six years old, and seemed to be perfect in every way, except that she sported a fox's tail attached to her back side. "Oh my! Looks like you have a touch of Kitsune in your soul."

"What's that?"

"Kitsune are fox spirits."

"Am I still just a spirit then?"

"Some Kitsune types could also be classified as souls. A soul is a spirit bound to the cycle of life and death that has self awareness. So, yes, you're still a spirit, but you're also a soul. You seem to be missing the fox ears, feet, and fur, so I'd say you are mostly human. You're not mortal yet, but I have a feeling 'after a short rest in Heaven', you'll be born for the first time."

The young girl brought her tail around to her stomach and then hugged it tight. "This is so cool," she said, her voice tinged with awe.

Kasumi turned to the two remaining shining spirits who had joined them. She held out her hands. "Do you think you might like a turn?"

"YES MA'AM!" they shouted grabbing her hands.

Kasumi smiled and then said "Repeat after me…"

* * *

><p>A short time later, Kasumi rested under one of the cherry trees as she watched three children race around the park. There were two girls and a boy, all sporting fox tails. She had conjured children's robes from the Chaos in order to avoid certain questions that she just wasn't feeling up to right now. The Chi she had manufactured was a little rough around the edges, and it took her body some time to adjust it properly. As a result, she was bone tired. But she was also very happy. "At least my rescuers have been properly rewarded," she thought before drifting off to sleep.<p> 


	9. Kimiko

Chapter 8: Kimiko

Kasumi woke up with the children (real children) snuggled into her. Sunlight had returned to her little park. "I think it's time to start the journey Home, children," she told them.

"What about you?" ask the boy.

She got up and led them into the Sunlight. She felt the Light energizing her, and reassuring her. "Oh, I'll be fine. You'll see to it."

"What do we have to do?" asked the brown hair girl.

Kasumi looked at her. "I know how to build a Gate (thanks to Kami-Sama), and I know where to get the Chi needed to power it, but I need a guide. You three need to go to the Temple in the Celestial City and find someone willing to guide me home. Being Heaven, the person will ask for no payment. If you can find someone who knew me in life, that would be best, but there's likely to be a lot of people and spirits there, so that may not be reasonable." She thought a little, remembered her lessons from Tofu, then knelt down and began to pull some threads from her nightgown where she had ripped it earlier. Using the Chaos, she wrapped three groups of threads in amber, and then placed the amber as a pendent on a three silver necklaces. She reinforced the necklaces with Chi and fastened a necklace around each child. "The threads are from my world. A person recently from my world will recognize the pendants as such and volunteer to help. If they don't recognize them, they will probably help you find someone who does."

The auburn hair girl asked, "Are you sure about this? Maybe one of us should stay with you?"

"No, your time to go Home is now. This applies to all three of you. Have a little faith. I'll be fine. Kami-Sama Blessed the Bindings between us. Don't try and come back here – the park will return to the Chaos once I leave. We will meet again in the mortal world." She leaned down a little closer to the children and whispered "If I wasn't so sure, I'd never let you go." She smiled gently.

Suddenly, her arms were full of children."We love you, Kasumi!"

"I love you three, too. Now go, before I break into tears."

The three souls turned to face the Sun. She saw the worry leave their faces to be replaced with determination. As one, they began walking toward the Light. With each step they took, the Light seemed to expand, quickly filling Kasumi's vision. She listened to their last words before the Light overwhelmed all her senses:

"We believe, Kasumi."

"We will get help…"

"Maybe… Maybe even Grandmother!"

The light faded, and the Sun with it. The cloudy (but bright) daylight had returned to her park. Kasumi looked to where she last saw the children. "Protect them Kami-Sama. Please!" she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and sighed. Then a thought struck her "Grandmother? Whose grandmother? They don't even have parents yet, never mind grandparents." She dismissed the thought as maybe an aspect of Kitsune lore she had yet to read.

A little time passed, but it seemed like hours to Kasumi. The Light had energized her, not allowing her to sit down. So she wandered to the deepest of the pools and decided to burn off energy by swimming. With a thought, she altered the configuration of the pond to be deeper, stripped down, and began doing laps. When this bored her, she decided running through katas might be a good idea. Emerging from the water, she looked at her ripped night gown. "Hardly the thing to welcome someone from the Celestial City," she thought.

She took Henna's cards out of the pocket and tore a broad piece of fabric off of the bottom of her nightgown, wrapping the cards in the fabric. She then held up her garments. Next, she imagined thread spun from Chaos and then wove it into clothing's fabric using her thoughts, fleshing it out and thickening it up. In the end, she split the main garment in to a karate gi top and pants, then took the time to also weave a sports bra and appropriate underwear. Finally, Kasumi spun practice shoes. Holding up the pieces, she admired her handiwork. "Not bad. If medicine doesn't work out, I can always become a seamstress." After she dressed, she summoned a mirror, looking at her reflection. The bright white gi looked perfect. "All right, so I'm a little vain" she chuckled and created a rubber band to hold her ponytail. The workout commenced as soon as she placed Henna's cards back in a pocket.

She was just wrapping up her routines when she heard a clapping to her right. A woman emerged from under one of the nearby cherry trees. At first glance, she thought it was Akane, but the woman was taller and a little older. The sharp eyes reminded her of Nabiki. However, she knew that smile well – she saw it every time she looked in a mirror. "Mother!" Kasumi yelled, running to embrace Kimiko.

Kimiko held her daughter in a fierce hug. "My precious girl. How you have grown!" Her whispered voice was choked with emotion. The two women stood for the longest time, locked in an embrace. Finally, Kimiko said "Let me look at you, daughter."

Kasumi pulled back a little and looked at her mom. Kimiko's eyes greedily drank in her daughter's features. "It's one thing to watch you from the Next World, but it's entirely different face-to-face." Then her eye's clouded up, and she gently held her daughter's face. "Kasumi, I'm so sorry for what you had to go through."

"It's all right Mother."

"No, it's not all right. You were nine years old. Just. nine. years. old. Everything got dumped on you. You and your sisters were practically orphans."

"Mom, it's not like you had a choice."

"No. No, I didn't, but I should have made a point of haunting your father and scaring him off his ass. Gotten him to move. Do something. Do anything!"

"It would have only sent him to the insane asylum, Mother".

Kimiko sighed. "Perhaps, but I still should have tried. It might have moved you out of Nerima."

"We got by, Mother. Akane is eighteen now. She will be going off to college soon. Nabiki has already been accepted at a university in downtown Tokyo. Beside, the people of Nerima have done their best to help us."

"Yes, the _people_ of Nerima did do their best, including the good doctor, and the green grocer who always undercharged you, and the teachers who forgave your tardiness, and the fish shop that made a point of selling you a better cut than you could afford, and the seamstress who taught you what I couldn't, and the endless list of individuals who watched and prayed for you. But the town itself attracts trouble – there's something underneath that's broken; a well that needs to be plugged."

Kasumi stopped and thought about that. "Not all the weirdness is bad…" she said tentatively.

"Hmph." Her mother dropped her hands from Kasumi's face and linked arms with her daughter, pulling her into a walk. "If you're referring to Ranma Saotome, things are not as you think. Ranma was not drawn to Nerima – he was sent. He was cursed with an idiot father who should have killed him off way before now. Somehow, someway, the boy survived and the powers-that-be decided use that tenacity and send him to Nerima for the very reason that Ono ended up there. To serve as a stress release. He draws off the supernatural, the bullies, and the crazies that target him from the rest of the people. That entourage that follows him does much the same thing. If you want proof – check out the reported crime numbers for Nerima, before and after he showed up. The boy has my sympathy, though."

Kasumi sighed, "It's getting tougher for him though."

"Yes," Kimiko agreed. She looked directly at her daughter. "Yes, it is. As your own tasks get lighter, you may want to aid him. Maybe break some of the Bindings that hold him down. Give it some thought, and that's all I'll say on the matter – I came for you, not him."

"What about Akane?"

"What about Akane? If you are referring to Ranma, she and he will sort it out themselves, and the more others leave them alone, the better. I'll admit I would not be unhappy to see them wed, but let them decide. If you're referring to Akane in general, tell her to stop poisoning people and try her own damn food. She's getting better, but *you* need to enforce that rule. You're the 'Mom' like it or not, and what you told Henna is very true. None of them will cross you – use that. Other than that, I'm very proud of Akane. She's a good martial artist, and she's a great person. I admire her determination and her courage. She's probably one of the few women in the city able to go toe-to-toe with the darkest of Nerima and not back down. There's much to be said for that." Kimiko sighed then. "She has the same fault her mother does though – she's too hot-blooded. Since I could never figure out what to do about that for myself, I don't have any suggestions."

"I never thought of you as hot-blooded."

"Why should you? You were the angel. You never saw my temper. Oh, you got into everything and you nearly gave me a heart attack with the climbing you use to do, but I could hardly blame you for that since I was worse at that age. You were also so inquisitive – and you still are. You wanted to learn everything. You saw me cook, so you wanted to learn. You saw me clean, so wanted to learn that. You saw me do Tai Chi, so you wanted to learn that – Thank God for that." Kimiko paused for a second. "By the way, your form is beautiful. Your instructor is a class act."

"Thank you. I still see her twice a month to maintain, but she says there's nothing left she can teach me." Kasumi responded.

"Then get the Saotome boy to teach you. I happen to know he can be bribed into almost anything with a plate of hot chocolate chip cookies. Don't let the fiancée brigade find out though." Kimiko grinned evilly.

Kasumi burst out laughing.

"Had I lived," returning to her original point, "you probably would have left home to join the circus rather than referee another fight between Akane and myself. The two of us are just too similar. You may want to offer that comfort to her the next time she feels down about herself. Let her know she does me proud. Also let her know I started out as a terrible cook – that's why I created that little notebook. See if you can get her to let go of her pride and follow it a little more."

"Any words of advice about Nabiki? Kasumi asked.

Kimiko sighed. "Unfortunately, no. I spend a lot of time worried about Nabiki. Whatever is wrong with Nerima as a whole is wound around her soul. She's forever afraid of loss, so she believes in nothing. If you have nothing, you cannot be hurt. Losing me didn't help, but it's not the whole story. She doesn't believe in Soun – he provides no support, emotionally or otherwise. She doesn't believe even in money when it comes down to it – it's a counter in a game. The only thing she believes in is you and Akane and she's desperately afraid of losing either of you – it's the key reason she sabotaged the wedding. She'd like to look at Ranma as a constant in her life, at least through Akane, but she's afraid Akane will drive him away. Sometimes I think she wants to drive him away herself rather than put up with the potential loss of a brother by any other means. All you can do is try and be there for her. Hopefully, once she leaves Nerima, things will even out for her. Best if you try to get her to live on campus."

The two women continued on in silence for a little longer, and then Kasumi asked. "How did you find me here?"

"By the necklaces you prepared, how else?" Kimiko answered. She let go off Kasumi and reached into her pocket, pulling out the three pendants.

"Oh good, you ran into the children then."

"No, I did not run into the children, nor did the children run into me." A sharp tone began to creep into her mother's voice.

"What? Are they OK?" asked Kasumi.

"Oh, they are just fine in Heaven. In the company of very good spirits last I saw them."

"Huh?"

"Well, you see, daughter, Heaven had a very unusual disturbance earlier on. It's seems three Kitsune children managed to storm the Gates of Heaven (upsetting the Gatekeepers), shoot through the Streets of Gold (ignoring any traffic patterns), almost fly into the Temple (barely missing some Cherubs), climb up the One Throne (how I'm not sure), stand up on lap of Kami-Sama, and then bellow at the top of their lungs to the surrounding (and very surprised) multitudes that Kasumi Tendo was in trouble and would someone please help them."

Kasumi's feet became very unsteady – probably due to lack of blood. That's because it was all in her face. "Oooohhh, mmyyy" she stuttered. She slowly raised her hands to her face in a futile effort to push the blood elsewhere.

Kimiko faced her daughter and placed her hands on her hips. "Be grateful that they at least had the presence of mind to turn and bow deeply to Kami-Sama before going back and quizzing the multitudes," she said sternly.

That's it. Kasumi's legs lost it and she fell heavily to the ground. She looked stunned. Her mother tried to maintain her stern gaze and then broke out laughing. She knelt down next to her daughter and hugged her. "It's OK, love. They are not in any trouble."

"Did they really do that?" Kasumi asked in a whisper.

"I'm afraid so, honey." Kimiko laughed again. "But there's no way they could have done any of that without help, a lot of help, if you catch my drift. I have a feeling Kami-Sama was using them as a demonstration on the power of Love. It certainly got everyone's attention. I do know that Kami-Sama was still laughing at the stunned looks in the crowd when I left. I was told in no uncertain terms to go get my troublemaking daughter and put her back where she belonged. Then again, the Attendants might have been a bit more convincing if their faces weren't breaking up into laughter every five seconds. It's really fine, Kasumi. No one's mad and the children really are all right." Her eyes twinkled. "You may want to start up a habit of going to Temple every once and a while though, just to be sure. A little prayer may be good for the soul…"

"Oh dear."

Kimiko continued to cradle her daughter. "The good news is we don't need to waste time building a Gate. I can get you home when we are ready." She felt Kasumi nod her head. "I'd like to store up just a little more time though." Kasumi hug her tightly and they were quiet for a while.

"Any words of advice about Father?"

Kimiko sighed. "No. To be honest, he's not your problem. He is his own. He never learned the lesson that life is for the living, and the living must move on. I still love him and I know he loves me, but I'm dead and I'm not coming back to him in this lifetime. Just be a dutiful daughter and given him somewhere to rest his bones when he gets older. Maybe he'll get the idea before he wastes his life away. You have your life ahead of you though – don't let him stop you."

"What about the Saotomes?"

"I already told you. Help Ranma as you can. Get everyone to leave Ranma and Akane alone as much as possible."

"I meant his parents."

Kimiko's eyes hardened. "Arsenic. Strychnine. Ricin. Whatever you can lay your hands on, preferably without being traced. Although I must admit there's a good case for justifiable homicide there."

"Mother!"

"I'm not joking Kasumi. No, I don't really want you to poison them, only because you might wreak your own life. I was never impressed with Genma. Actually, I loathed the very sight of him. He struck me as a weasel that needed skinning. Had I actually known what was happening to Ranma, I would have called Social Services. Barring that, a contract with the local Yakuza for a kidnapping would have been in order. I'd tell you get a Yakuza contract on Genma now, except I think he's too good now. They probably couldn't touch him."

Kimiko went on. "I had met Nodoka a few times. She was devoted to Ranma, but she otherwise seemed out-of-it. I could never understand if she married Genma because it was an arranged marriage, or because she was fleeing from an arranged marriage and Genma was the first idiot she found. She seemed obsessed with honor, either maintaining it or regaining it, the story changed. The only thing that was obvious was that Genma was a sperm donor, nothing more. She didn't love him then, and I doubt she loves him now. The rest was (and I suppose, still is) some crazy sense of duty. No matter how calm she appears though, don't let her fool you – no sane woman orders her underage son to commit seppuku. *Ever* There's no excuse and that's the bottom line. If there's ever any chance to get the Saotomes out of Ranma's life cleanly, take it."

Kasumi was shocked at the tone from her mother so she said nothing.

"What's wrong Kasumi? Surprised your sweet mother can be so hard-nosed?" Kimiko gave her a little squeeze.

Kasumi snorted a small laugh, "I guess. Thinking back, you already had Father trained. He never crossed you. The merchants were always so polite to you at the shops. Everyone seemed to like you. You were very attentive to us."

"Of course, I was attentive to you three children. I loved you deeply – still do. And everyone did like me, just like they do you and just like they do Akane (more to the point). I always start out positive in the face of the unknown. If people stayed positive to me, I stayed positive to them. But I also had a temper, and I wasn't afraid to use it. Just ask that little troll Happosai next time you see him. He and I got off on the wrong foot from day one and I never let him forget it. To this day, he won't stay in the same room as a vacuum cleaner."

Kasumi giggled. "That's true, come to think of it." Then she yawned.

"Oh dear," her mom smiled. "Looks like Time is becoming pressing."

"What? NO!" Kasumi sat up. "I'm not ready to leave yet just because I yawned. Why should a yawn make a difference? I slept here earlier."

"No, you passed out earlier. But, it's a sign Actuality is kicking in and the Chaos is receding. You are a creature of Time and you cannot avoid it forever. If we don't move soon, you will be dumped to a random world, and we can't have that. So, let me give you some words of advice concerning the only person you didn't ask about."

"Who?"

"YOU. Kasumi Tendo." Kimiko put her finger to Kasumi's lips. "Shush. You spend your life taking care of others, but it's time to start living for yourself too. Akane's fine. You did a wonderful job. There's very little you could do about Nabiki, but she does have a path to salvation *if* she wants it – and you laid it out for her. Your Dad is not your problem. You fulfilled your promise to me, a promise that never should have been made. It's done. Let yourself *really* love. There are so many people that could use it, including a certain doctor. Forget the Bind – there's an easy way to blow it away if you take a chance. He may claim it's early, but so what? You could both end up in Kami-Sama's Throne room tomorrow. If things don't work out, at least you know you tried."

"Look outside the dojo," she continued. "I told you Nerima is trouble. I wish you could just get out of it, but you won't – you'll never abandon the people you love (and good for you). Well, there's a storm coming though. I don't know the why or wherefore all, but if you sit passively by, it will sweep everything away. Fight it. Batten down the hatches. Call your allies – you have many. Akane, Nabiki, Ranma, Tofu, Ukyo, Ryoga, the Amazons, and others will all come if you call. If you see a problem, sound the alarm. Always match your allies to the problem, but issue the call."

Kasumi saw that her park was starting to fade. He mother tightened her grip on her hands. Kimiko went on. "There are no words to express how proud I am of you. My quiet, perfect girl with a will of iron and a backbone of titanium. Don't bottle up your passion though. Anytime it has gotten out, wonderful things have happened, whether you believe it or not – trust me when I say that. Don't ever give up. And know that I love you and I'll be with you no matter what – ALWAYS." With that, Kimiko leaned forward and kissed her daughter's cheek. Kasumi saw that she and her mother we glowing a bright white light. The light filled her vision and then she lost all awareness.

* * *

><p>Next up: Home (two chapters to go and maybe an epilogue or two)<p> 


	10. Home

Chapter 9: Home

Beyond a doubt, the bedroom alarm clock has to be the most hideous sound in creation. Kasumi pulled a pillow over her face and tried to ignore it. "Please," she thought, "that was such a good dream. My mother was in it. Just five more minutes." Unfortunately, years of habit were hard to break and she was irrevocably awake. Sighing, she turned the alarm clock off and got up. As her feet hit the floor, she noticed that she wore her slippers to bed. "Odd, I usually don't do that and I don't remember being *that* tired last night. When did I get pure white slippers anyway? Usually, they are blue."

Not quite fully aware yet, she stumbled to her closet and got out clothes for the day. When she tried to take off her night gown though, she hit a catch, literally. "What? I wore pants to bed? I wore a dress yesterday, where did the pants come from? Wait, they look like gi pants. It's Sunday morning, I don't spar with Shizuka on Saturday, ever." She glanced at her closet and saw her gi hanging up. Her eyes widen as the sleep was replaced with shock. She ran over to her bedroom mirror and stared. She was wearing the Chaos gi. It shown brightly, even in the dim room. Her hair was in a pony tail, just as she wore for sparring. "OH MY!" her thoughts screamed. She shoved her hands into the gi's pocket. Sure enough the cards were there, wrapped in a piece of Kasumi's former night gown. She checked the closet to make sure the night gown was indeed missing. Then, she made her way back to the bed and sat down.

"That wasn't a dream. I was kidnapped last night. I saw visions, mostly false. I was rescued by three spirits, and they were *not* the Christmas spirits. I issued and received Binds last night. Those three spirits stormed Heaven because I asked them to (Oh my, I have *got* to get to temple soon). I spun this gi from Chaos and incorporated my old night gown into it (is that why it's still here when the park fell apart?). I spoke to Mother last night. She told me she was proud of me and gave me a lot of advice." She looked at the gi again – It was all real!

She sat still for quite some time remembering everything until she heard the second Tendo dojo alarm go off – A large splash out in the koi pond.

"WAKE UP BOY! OR SHOULD I SAY GIRL!" bellowed Genma. That voice set Kasumi's teeth on edge.

"YOU'RE DEAD OLD MAN!" Ranko yelled back.

"I wish" Kasumi thought.

"O.K. girl," she said to herself. "Granted, there are some changes that have to be made, but showing up for breakfast in an obviously supernatural gi is not one of them. There's a late morning healing service at 10AM in the temple near Furinkan. Let's shoot for that. Just tell them that you are going, and clean up is on them." She ran to her closet and chose some decent clothes. "I need to get a few less decent ones though." Getting dressed quickly, she brushed out her hair. "Apparently swimming in water created from Chaos is a great conditioner." Letting her hair flow back down over her right side shoulder, she ran down the stairs toward the kitchen nearly colliding with Akane as she was preparing to go jogging.

"Wow, Kasumi. You look sharp. What's the occasion?"

"Excuse me Akane, but I'm running late and I'd like to make it to the temple today."

"Really? Oh. Do you want company?"

"Sure, but I have got to hurry right now."

Kasumi flew into the kitchen and decided on a Western breakfast for everyone. As she worked, she heard the others move about. Nodoka came in and looked at the hurrying girl. "Kasumi, do you need a hand?"

"Yes, Auntie. Two things: One, could you make some coffee? Two, could you leave the sword outside the kitchen this morning? I know it's an heirloom, but I find it really distracting right now."

"Oh, Sure. Ah. Yes, to both. Hold on." Nodoka put the sword in the broom closet and then moved over to the coffee machine.

Ranko stormed into the kitchen. Kasumi threw a paper cup of hot water at the red head causing Ranma to look back with surprise. "Ranma, Akane is going to go to Services with me at 10AM. I need you to stay out of her way, so she's ready on-time."

Ranma looked confused, and then he looked at the clock. "When did she leave to go jogging?"

"About twenty minutes ago."

He walked quickly to the kitchen door, "That leaves me twenty minutes. Don't sweat it, Kasumi." Then he was gone.

Fifteen minutes later, Ranma was back, helping to move food to the dining room. Kasumi heard him exchange a greeting with Akane, who was back early. Kasumi also heard the smack as Ranma slugged his father to keep him from the eggs. "Auntie, could you go guard the food please? I could use Ranma's help to serve." The older woman nodded her head, grabbing a platter of glasses on her way out.

Ranma swept back in and grabbed the fruit, taking it out. After a few more trays, he looked around. "We're almost there." he said. "It's just the meat and the coffee now. Nabiki just put in an appearance and the adults have drained the first pot. I'll put on another pot." He did that and then left to tease Nabiki. One of the few times he could win a war of words with Nabiki was when she was a couple of cups short.

Alone in the kitchen, Kasumi watched the meat carefully. She checked the time and saw it was only 8:30AM. "Not bad. I've actually got plenty of time." Her mind wandered back over the night's events and the conversations she shared with her mother and the children. Something was tugging at her, something that should be obvious, but she was overlooking it.

"_a double-Bind with affection…"_

"…_could serve as the definition of marriage." _

"But couldn't it also serve as the definition of 'family'?" Kasumi wondered.

"_What spirit type is in your blood?"_

"_You'll have to guess."_

"…_he knows your sore spots and can push you off balance so easily using the dumbest things"_

"…_seems three Kitsune children managed to storm the Gates of Heaven…"_

"Even with Kami-Sama's help, how do three children storm *anything* convincingly. The answer is they don't. They distract, they hide, they trick their way in. They just do it quickly," Kasumi thought.

Kasumi turned off the stove and move the meat to a platter.

"Kitsune. Fox-spirits. The great tricksters of the Japanese spirit world. They would give the Native American Coyote a run for his money." She was almost there.

She picked up the platter and started to the door.

"…_which is very good considering that she's really 508."_

"Japanese lore has a large collection of tales regarding Kitsune marrying mortals, especially Kitsune females." The mental block went down.

"_What spirit type is in your blood?"_

Kasumi froze, half way to the door. It was bloody obvious in retrospect.

Only one last leap to be made. The platter left her hands and fell to the floor. Ranma flew in at the noise, stopped, and stared. He seemed to be saying something, but Kasumi couldn't hear it.

_"Maybe… Maybe even Grandmother!"_

And once the children left, Kimiko came for her daughter.

"Oh my…"

* * *

><p>Ranma had heard the crash in the kitchen and ran in. He saw Kasumi looking very white, just standing there. "Kasumi, are you all right?" He watched her eyes roll up into her head. "Kasumi!" He was at her side instantly and caught her as she fell.<p>

Kasumi slowly rose out of the fog. Ranma was kneeling by her head looking very concerned, checking her pulse and feeling her forehead. Akane was at her feet elevating her legs at Ranma's instruction. Nabiki flew in and knelt opposite Ranma, covering Kasumi with a coat to keep her warm. Nodoka was looking on wringing her hands. Soun was in his usual crisis mode, bawling his eyes out. Genma was trying to keep Soun from drowning his daughter.

Nabiki looked up. "Why is it up to the children in this family to handle the situations?" she thought, and began snapping orders.

"Daddy! Please shut up."

"Uncle, please take Daddy outside."

"Ranma, why don't you carry Kasumi to the couch."

Ranma nodded his head and began to lift Kasumi.

"Akane, Ranma doesn't need any help. He could lift six Kasumi's. Please get some proper blankets and pillows for her."

Akane also nodded and ran off.

"Auntie, could you please salvage what you can of the bacon and sausage? I'll clean up the rest…"


	11. The Three Sisters

Chapter 10: The Three Sisters

A little later, Kasumi lay on the couch, with Akane sitting on the floor by her feet, Nabiki by her head, and Ranma standing behind the couch looking at the three sisters. The three teenagers had fed the adults and managed to get some food for themselves. A plate of food sat ready for Kasumi. The visit to the temple would have to wait. Kasumi was all right with that. She'd pay her respects later. Kami-Sama couldn't be angry with her – He was too busy laughing at her. She looked at her concerned siblings (including the sort-of one) and asked "Are the adults busy?" Ranma nodded. "O.K. I'm sorry for the scare. I had a long night, and it caught up to me suddenly. Actually, a lot caught up to me suddenly, but now's not the time for that. Did you do as I asked and checked out the gi in my room?" Three nods – they had, hence the silence. "Not what you expect to see every day?"

Ranma spoke quietly. "Let's just say it has some unusual properties and it is keyed to you. It's also only wearable by an adept."

"Something we'll talk about later," added Nabiki. "It's not nice to keep secrets from your sisters."

Kasumi scowled at her sister. You're not one to talk." She looked at Ranma, "Is it temporary?" Kasumi asked.

"Doesn't look like it. It actually draws in free or discarded Chi and it seems to be defensive in nature. It doesn't seem to be expendable, so there's no reason to think it will pop like a soap bubble. It is a bit like Happosai's pipe or Cologne's staff."

"Fine," she said. "It's only importance right now is in proving I'm not crazy.'

"Don't want to join the club, Kasumi?" Akane teased quietly.

"None of you are crazy, that's part of what this is about. Listen up, short version – if you think I'm mad, remember the gi: Last night I was kidnapped by an Amazon named Henna." Three sets of eyes grew wide with surprise, and then angry. She held up he hands "I have no idea if our Amazons knew about the kidnapping, and honestly, I doubt it. Henna and Cologne didn't seem to be on the same side, so no over-reacting right now." They settled down a little, but only a little. "Henna's goal was to either drive me away or sink me into despair – the later was probably the primary goal as it would feed her magic. She did this by showing me a future where Akane was dead and Ranma committed seppuku." All eyes widened again. "She had set up thirteen different visions all showing the same outcome. I only bothered with one set of visions, but it was easy to see where things were going. Henna is over-confident and doesn't think much of anyone outside her tribe – especially dumb Japanese barbarians."

"How did you get away?" Nabiki asked.

"I managed to tick her off enough that she lost control of the magic she was using. Also, my ability to make friends and impress people helped a lot. Short version again, I made three friends who were only too happy to help me get away. Along the way, I picked up the gi and learned a fair bit."

"Such as?" Akane prompted

Kasumi reached up and grabbed Ranma's ear pulling him down closer. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Kasumi!" Ranma protested.

"Hush Ranma, don't fight me and it won't hurt. I want to make sure I have your absolute attention." She looked at her listeners. "Such as the importance of keeping your mouth shut and not making promises haphazardly. Especially to certain lost boys." Her steady gaze froze Ranma in his struggles. "You can be an absolute idiot sometimes." The three listeners heard glaciers rising from the ocean in her voice. "That could have blown up in your face so badly. You swore on your honor, didn't you?" Ranma nodded sheepishly. "When you swear on your honor, you create something mages call a voluntary Bind. Should you actually violate the oath, you lose a portion of you Chi immediately. More importantly, you lose some of your ability to regenerate Chi." Ranma now turned very pale.

Kasumi went on, growing grimmer by the second, "Had Hibiki been anything other than the immature little boy he was, you would have had to break your oath – or at least I hope you would have broken your oath!" Ranma was furiously nodding his head now – of course it might have been because Kasumi was using her other hand to bop him on the back of his head repeatedly. "The only reason I'm not throwing your butt across the room is because Akane has done it the past for this very offense – she just didn't know it as the time. She thought you were being perverted!"

"Ah, Kasumi?" broke in Akane. "I'm missing part of the conversation, and I think I need to know."

While never letting go of Ranma (who was guarding his head with his hands), Kasumi looked at Akane. "What you need to know Akane, is that I'm walking a very careful line. Because of Ranma's careless promise, a very unintended side effect was that your honor was vulnerable to Ryoga. When Ranma realized this, he tried his idiotic best to protect your honor himself, as well as preserve his oath. Ranma's actions sometimes left him exposed in compromising situations that put him in the worst possible light. You pounded him for perceived transgressions. Fortunately, Ryoga wasn't a total cad. While not exactly the most honest boy, he does have a decent set of morals and his own sense of honor. Even though your honor was vulnerable to him, he never abused it. Although I hope he drove Ranma wild at the prospect." Kasumi glared at Ranma.

Ranma winced. "Yeah he did. But it was a simple promise. It seemed a reasonable thing at the time. I didn't know where things were going to go," Ranma protested.

"Well consider this. Had you been forced to break your word (and you certainly pushed the limits), you wouldn't be as strong as you are now. What would have happened during the fight with Saffron?" questioned Kasumi.

All three of her audience members went white.

"Exactly. That's where it would have gone," Kasumi stated chilly. She reached up under Ranma's neck and flipped him up, slamming him to the floor between her two sisters. She sat up and grabbed his shirt, pinning him to the ground. "Absolutely no more honor promises."

Ranma nodded his head.

"Do you swear on your honor?" Kasumi asked.

Ranma opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Speaking quickly, he said "How am I supposed to answer that?"

"Oh look, he can be taught." Kasumi stated. Nabiki laughed. Then Kasumi turned to Akane, "This applies to you as well, Miss 'I'm a martial artist too'. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Akane replied. "But I still don't know what Ranma's promise involved."

"I know, but now it's a matter between you and Ryoga. I'm not going to tell you, because I hoping he will. He's not a bad person, and he's getting older and wiser every day. I don't want to take away his shot at redemption. Besides, now Ranma can help watch your honor without endangering his own. He can tell me if there's a real issue, and I'll tell you then, but I don't think it will come to that." She paused for a second, "When you do find out, you'll probably be angry, and *some* punishment for Ryoga is in order, but don't go overboard – you were never out-and-out betrayed. As for this one," she thumbed at Ranma, "you'll also find out that you missed punishing Ranma for things he should have done, but you have already punished him for things he didn't do. Just give him a quick kick in the butt, call it "timed served" and let it go."

"Oh, all right" Akane huffed, "but your taking the fun out of this."

Kasumi leaned forward and gave Ranma a small smile. "All right Saotome, you've been punished and you're off the hook – make sure you stay off of it. Now, you can take my breakfast and heat it up for me. I'd also like some toast and a fresh cup of coffee. Go get lost for ten minutes. Then come back. Got it?"

Ranma gave a sigh of relief and hopped up. He turned smartly to Kasumi, gave a mock salute, and barked out "Yes, ma'am". He grabbed the dishes and ran to the kitchen.

As soon as he was gone, Akane asked, "so when did you learn about the honor pact between Ryoga and Ranma?"

Kasumi gave one of her mysterious smiles and said "Oh, about the same time you did."

Akane's mouth popped open and her eyes went wide. Nabiki hopped up on the couch and gave Kasumi a crushing hug, nearly bursting into tears. "God, I missed this side of you, sis! Where have you been?" Kasumi laughed hugging her back. Then Kasumi leaned forward and grabbed Akane, dragging her up on the couch. The three sisters sat arm-in-arm.

"I've been here. I've just been playing the dutiful daughter a bit too much since our house guests arrived. I was hoping that Father would start taking charge again with the added stimulus, but it hasn't happened." Kasumi sighed. "Now he just stands around in shock all the time. The few times he's taken control, other than to dump responsibility to someone else, have been absolute disasters. Unfortunately, I'm running out of time and patience. I've had it."

"Oh! Are you leaving us then? Akane asked with a slight tremble in her voice. Nabiki went a little pale.

"What?" Kasumi said. "Oh! No, no. I'm just going to be the Matriarch again. Unless one of *you* two want it? You are adults now, or at least much more than the rest of the lunatics in this house."

"Not a chance!" her sisters said together grabbing her hands as if to lock her down.

"Fine then. Just remember that when I start issuing commands. I'm abdicating to the one who disobeys me."

"Oh, yeah, she's back." Akane said firmly.

"Mommy's home." Nabiki teased.

"Hah! You two are eighteen and nineteen. I'm done trying to fill shoes that are too big for me. I'm Big Sister from here on out. I want a life too."

Nabiki looked at her older sister. "I can understand that. But, for the record, you did a really good job in those shoes, Sis."

Akane just said "Amen."

The three of them were silent for a moment. They could hear Ranma banging around in the kitchen.

Nabiki broke the silence, "I don't suppose we could do something about the house pests – I mean 'guests'?"

Kasumi asked quietly, "Do you really want to send Ranma away?" Akane looked stricken.

Nabiki gave a slight start. "Damn, I keep forgetting he's not a Tendo despite the number of times I call him Saotome."

"Ever since Daddy stopped pressuring us about marrying, he's really relaxed around me. I'd like to see where that goes." Akane said quietly.

Nabiki commented, "Besides, it wouldn't be good for Ranma to be alone with Genma or Nodoka. He'd close up again in self-defense. That, and he's a lot of fun to tease."

All three sisters burst into giggles. "Well, at least we all agree there," Kasumi laughed. She grew serious again. "I think I'll work on Nodoka. Get her to see that it's better for Ranma to stay with Akane in hopes of uniting the schools."

"Keep in mind I don't want to be a teenage bride," Akane added. "I really care about Ranma, but looking back, I'm not sure that wedding attempt was a good idea. We both have some growing to do."

"Relax, I don't want to see you married until you're legal age either. I have *some* skill in persuading people though."

The three were silent again for a few moments, then Akane asked "Speaking of which, how did you get home again?"

"With a little help from my friends and a special emissary from Kami-Sama, who wanted the troublemaker sent back where she belongs," answered Kasumi.

"Is that why you were so hot to get to a temple? To apologize?"

"Yep. Then I realized that Kami-Sama was about ten steps ahead of me and laughing at my antics. That's when I passed out in the kitchen – too much information at once. But, I figure the King will forgive the court jester. It's probably still a good idea if I make more of an effort in general though. By the way, the emissary sent her love, and told me to tell you both that she's very proud of you."

Nabiki looked at Kasumi with wide eyes (again) "You're not serious, are you?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Additionally, Mother's very worried about you Nabiki. She thinks that going away for college is a good idea. Get out of Nerima for a while."

Nabiki thought about it and then grinned. "Aww, but you just came back to me." she teased.

"I'm not going anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan on being a babysitter for Father all my life. But, most of my work is right here. You can visit me on weekends, Nabiki. I promise you'll have a place here. And Akane, she said you were to go back to her cookbook and learn that. Nothing else for a while."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, baby sister. That's it. And I've been told to use the mallet if you don't. Besides, it will do you good to be on the receiving end for once."

Akane blushed while Nabiki chuckled. "What does she think of Ranma?" Akane asked.

"She said that you and Ranma should be left alone to sort things out for yourselves. For what it's worth, she made a point of saying that she likes him well enough. She also said I should help ease some of the more ridiculous aspects of his life as much as possible. There's a storm coming to Nerima. Ranma was sent here to fight it, just like Tofu was. Myself and many others will be joining the battle as well."

"Are you serious?" Akane asked again.

"Tofu Ono?" questioned Nabiki.

"Yes, Tofu. He'll be back shortly I think."

"Mother knew that?" asked Akane.

"No. I know that. I know where Tofu is. We keep in constant touch."

Nabiki raised her eyebrows "Any other secrets you're keeping from us?"

"Many. Trying to find them all out should keep you out of trouble."

"Nope. If there's a storm coming, and you're involved, I'm helping you."

"Fantastic. Just do it on the weekends. You're leaving for college in a month if I have to throw you on the bus. So says the Big Sister."

"Hey, what am I suppose to do?" Akane chimed.

"Learn to cook!" her sisters shot back.

"Besides, Akane. You have plenty to do," Kasumi added. "You have your Senior year in front of you, and if there is a storm coming to Nerima, I'm sure a certain hot-tempered black hair girl will be in the middle of it. Mom said you are too much like her to stay out of it."

"That's better. What about you sis? Is there anything else besides storm chasing that you will be doing?

"Yes, I'm going husband hunting, and I'm planning on an interesting hunt. You two can help me shop for clothes later today – my wardrobe needs some serious updating. My goal will be a certain smart-aleck doctor that enjoys busting my chops whenever he can. I'm also going to start studying for pre-med examinations. Eventually, once I bag the good doctor, I'll be expecting to have three children: a girl, a boy, and another girl spaced one and two years apart.

Akane raised her eyebrows. "You sound very sure of yourself. What, do you know their hair color too?"

Kasumi laughed. "As a matter of fact, I do – Some things are just fated to be.


	12. Epilogue I

Epilogue I:

Happosai sneaked into Kasumi's room while the rest of the family was busy downstairs. The ancient martial artist looked around quickly and spotted Kasumi's gi lying over a chair. Stealing over to it, he carefully searched though the garment, soon finding the cards Kasumi had taken from Henna. He shuffled through the thirteen cards quickly.

"Poor Henna," he chuckled. "You sought to break the weakest link in the chain and ending up tackling the strongest. You're slipping my dear." He placed the cards away inside his gi, laughing quietly. His thoughts were interrupted by someone behind him.

"Oh look children, there's a pervert creeping around in your mother's bedroom," said a voice that Happosai had not heard in fifteen years. A voice belonging to the only woman he had ever *truly* feared in his long life.

All the blood drained from Happosai's face as he slowly turned around.

"Yes, Grandmother," Three new voices chorused their agreement.

What Happosai saw in the ordinary light would have normally worried him – three rather large and ominous looking mallets floating in the air between him and the doorway. What his Other Sight showed him absolutely terrified him. "Wait Kimiko, I can explain! Really!" he screamed hoarsely.

"And you know what we do with perverts, children?" Kimiko continued calmly.

"Yes, Grandmother." chorused three Kitsune children again as they tightened their grip on their mallets.

The next thirty seconds were really, really long for poor old Happosai … Fortunately, for the rest of the household, the (mostly) ethereal hammers didn't make much noise. However, Happosai heard them loud and clear against his skull, several times over.

"Hold on children. Let me get the window for you." Kimiko stated in a motherly tone.

"Yes, Grandmother."

Happosai felt a huge slam, and then became aware of his rapidly increasing altitude. As he left the neighborhood (nearly vertically – the landing was really going to hurt), he made a mental note to himself not to enter Kasumi's room again under any circumstances.


	13. Epilogue II

Epilogue II

Kasumi had just seen Akane, Ranma, and Nabiki out the door to school. She planned on cleaning up and then running over to Shizuka's dojo to chat. Ranma had made a few suggestions she wanted to talk to Shizuka about. As she was finishing the dishes, there was a tap at the window. She pulled the curtain to the side to see the excited face of Chie, the current receptionist from the Ono clinic. Kasumi smiled at her and waved the middle-aged woman around to the front door, with only a slight internal wince. Kasumi liked Chie, but she was a little silly and a horrible gossip. It was very easy to lose an hour talking to Chie. Still, she was a nice person.

Chie practically bounced into the house. "Kasumi! Do you have a minute? You have to listen to this!" She brandished a cassette tape.

"Oh my. What's that?" Kasumi asked.

"It's the answering machine tape from the office. You have to hear what's on it!" Chie replied. At a questioning look from Kasumi, Chie continued: "Dr. Ono called early this morning about 2AM. He wanted me to tell you that he can't call you tomorrow, but that he'll call you on Thursday at the normal time. I'm also supposed to tell you a little more, but I really think you should hear the whole message yourself!" Chie was bouncing so much she was almost hovering. Kasumi dragged the woman into the kitchen and popped the cassette in the kitchen radio. Once she hit play, Tofu voice was heard.

"Hello Chie, it's Tofu." Kasumi never heard the doc sound so tired. "It's about 2AM on Sunday – no – Monday morning. Please tell Kasumi that I'll talk to her on Thursday. I'm beat and I'm tired and I need to sleep for a couple of days. Oh gods, don't tell her that – she'll be on the first bus in the morning to see if I'm O.K. Tell her I'm fine, but things became complicated and I will have my hands full for the next few days. Ah shit, now you'll both be on the bus."

The doc paused for a moment, "Look. I'm tired, but I'm whole – I promise. I have all my fingers and toes. I pretty much got away clean except for some minor scratches and the fact that I have maybe three drops of Chi left in my system. I just need to sleep. The task is almost complete. We won…"

There was a voice in the background of the tape, "What did the Fox say?"

Another voice answered, "He said 'We won'."

"Did we?" a third asked.

A fourth voice with a European accent chimed in, "Well, let see. We found the true source, we got the dam built, the shrine and the wards set up, and the beastie is back asleep. As an added bonus, no one is dead, not even the old man. Hell, there are a few broken bones here and there, and a few stitches needed, but we will all heal."

Tofu's voice cut in, "Can you morons shut up? The idea was to convince the ladies to stay home."

Suddenly, another voice cut in, a voice with a Chinese accent that Kasumi recognized. "Oh damn. Kasumi, please stay home. The bloody thing is asleep. We need it to stay that way." The image of a young man in dragon scale armor sprang to Kasumi's mind.

Tofu was back. "Damn. Sorry Chie. I should have pushed off this phone call until the guys were asleep, but I'm afraid I will be one of the first to fall asleep." The women could hear Tofu taking a deep breath. "Look, I'm fine. I promise, but we need to keep civilians out of the area a little longer, especially women. **Please** Tell Kasumi whatever is necessary so she stays home."

In the background, the voices had started up again.

"Shit, we did it. We really did it."

"We won."

More voices began to join in. "We won. We won! We WON! WE WON!" There was the sound of men stomping their feet and pounding tables.

There was a soft crash, and Kasumi heard Tofu yell out, "Hey, we might need that if…" then in a normal voice "Oh hell, forget it." It sounded like the doc slouched against a wall. "After a glass or two they'll be out like lights anyway…it will be easier to set the broken bones." The chanting was quite clear in the background. The two women heard Tofu move to a slightly quieter spot. "Look, Chie, just tell Kasumi I'm all right and I'll call her on Thursday." Tofu laughed quietly. "And tell her, if she's a good little girl and stays put, I should be home in three weeks. And that I lov…No, I'll tell her that myself in person when I see her. Take care." The tape ended.

Kasumi calmly removed the tape from the player and put it in her pocket. She then began looking for a blank tape to give to Chie. Turning to the inquisitive woman, she handed the blank tape over and told Chie with a small smile, "Thanks for the message, Chie. I really appreciate you letting me know that Tofu is safe."

Chie took one look at Kasumi and replied, "Oh, no you don't, Miss Tendo. You're not getting off the hook that easily."

With another small smile (and maybe a dash of mischief in the eyes), Kasumi said "I have no idea what hook you're referring to. Don't you have a clinic you're supposed to be running?"

"You know where the doc is."

"And you do too – I know you traced the phone numbers."

"And you're not going to run to him?"

"When he explicitly said not to? That if I stay put, he'll be home faster? When it sounds like he's in the middle of a fraternity party about to get rowdy? Never mind the fact that he really does sound like he'll sleep for a couple of days?"

"When he said that he loved you?"

"But, he didn't say that. He was about to say that he loved my cooking. He tells me that all the time. Many people do."

Chie looked absolutely exasperated. "Kasumi!"

There was no mistaking the twinkle in her eyes as she led Chie toward the door. "If you have time before the clinic opens, why don't you run home and seduce your husband? It'll give you something to do instead of meddling in my love life."

"Ah ha! So you do have a love life!"

Kasumi gave the older woman a hug and pushed her out the door. "I have work to do now, just like you. I'll stop by the clinic during lunch. We can continue this game then." Chie gave her a smile and took off. Kasumi closed the door firmly and leaned back against it. She checked for her father or the Saotomes and then allowed herself a real grin. "Call me a little girl will you? Hmmm…Stop playing with that dragon and come to me, my little kit. I'm going to put a knot in that tail of yours that you'll never get out." And with that mischievous thought and a chuckle, she went about her day.


End file.
